


WAY DOWN WE GO ⇀ ( jasper hale ) ✓

by llunaetic_ao3



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Sherlock (TV), Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: LGBTQ Character, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Terminal Illnesses, idk how tagging works on here yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 85,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28816344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llunaetic_ao3/pseuds/llunaetic_ao3
Summary: WAY DOWN WE GO- "oh, father tell me, do we get what we deserve?"the swan boy falls for the cullen that always looks like he's in pain.( twilight )( jasper hale x male oc )
Relationships: Jasper Hale/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65





	1. WAY DOWN WE GO

WAY DOWN WE GO !  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼ 

0\. Summary  
— cold dreamer beautiful and true !

— SINCE THE MOMENT ANTHONY SWAN HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, HIS LIFE BECAME FULL OF HOSPITAL VISITS AND CHEMOTHERAPY. After years of treatment, time after time nothing worked and they gave up hope, as did Tony.

He'd never gotten along well with his mother, and so he was more than happy to spend what could quite possibly be the last years of his life with his father.

It seemed like the world wasn't prepared to let him go quietly. That much was certain as soon as he locked eyes with a blonde haired Cullen across the history classroom.

OR IN WHICH  
a swan boy falls for the cullen  
that always looks like he's in pain

"How strange to dream of  
you even when I'm wide awake."

0\. casting  
— pretty little heartbeat  
&  
eyes of gold !

°⋆∴☽°:۵≼  
COLE SPROUSE !  
as  
ANTHONY BILLY SWAN !

°⋆∴☽°:۵≼  
JACKSON RATHBONE !  
as  
JASPER HALE !

0\. additional cast  
— beautiful souls of broken dreams !

0\. lily collins as helena liv marigold  
i. sebastian stan as daniel evans  
ii. rahul kohli as reyes 'blue' jaylin  
iii. amandla stenburg as delphine jaylin

additional cast of twilight  
as themselves !

"Pain makes people change."

DISCLAIMER:  
I don't own any characters, dialogue or plot that belong to the creators of Twilight. However I do own my own characters, dialogue and plots.

WARNING:  
THIS CONTAINS HARSH LANGUAGE, ILLNESSES, MENTAL HEALTH DISCUSSION AND RATHER GORY SCENES, IF YOU AS A READER CANNOT HANDLE THOSE THINGS IT'S MUCH ADVISED THAT YOU  
STOP READING HERE !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha look im on ao3 now, and of course i’m publishing wdwg first- it was my first published work across all other platforms so it’s really only fitting
> 
> to be entirely honest, i don’t really know how ao3 works so please bear with me— I can already tell it kinda messed with my formatting but that’s no big deal (:
> 
> in any case, iiiii hope you enjoy it- welcome to the learning process of Luna exploring ao3 lmao


	2. ONE

CHAPTER ONE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. welcome to forks !

— LET'S DISCUSS THE WORD 'TERMINAL'. First and foremost it can mean an end of something and in relation to a disease the definition is simple; all possible treatments have been exhausted and still there have been no results. An incurable condition, leading to the termination of the patient. An end to suffering.

Now how about 'lungs'? They're these two spongy organs in your body that control air flow. These organs are indefinitely important for living. Breathing is something that humans need every second, for talking, laughing, running, or dancing. 

Now finally, what's 'cancer'? Other than a scary word that makes people flinch. A hushed silence falls over the room. Whispers of horror are heard. Hundreds of different cancers and yet we'll still never get used to hearing that word. Cancer. In its entirety, a disease. So powerful and oh so heartbreaking.

And so, terminal lung cancer. Words that no child should be familiar with, or anyone for that matter.

How does terminal lung cancer affect people? Or more specifically, how does it affect the Swan family?

In Anthony's own rather professional opinion, it affected the Swan's in a way he wished it hadn't. His mother Renée lived in constant fear that he was going to drop dead any second. His sister didn't quite know how to accept his condition, so she resorted to ignoring it and him. While his father, Charlie Swan, was too awkward to talk to him about it, which didn't matter all that much since Renée had taken Anthony and Bella and ditched their father to live a warm life in Arizona.

Yet now, Anthony and Bella have said goodbye to Renée and her sporty new husband. Goodbye to the sweaty heat. Goodbye to that familiar hospital room.

While Renée and Phil were going to be travelling, Bella had offered for the two teens to live with their father.

Even though it was Bella's idea, the older Swan boy was much more excited. He missed his father dearly and could do with a bit of time away from Renée if he was being entirely honest.

So, as he stuffed his things away in a suitcase he said goodbye to his hospital room bunkies.

"I truly do not understand why you didn't just bone her when you had the chance."

"Liv, that's just-"

"I mean really now she's gone and you're sick, you missed your chance man. Look at Tony, he's going out and doing something with his life."

Anthony sighed and put his last article of clothing into his dark blue suitcase, which happened to be a pair of Batman socks.

"I'm moving to Forks, Liv."

"Hey man, compared to this meatball- you're going places."

From his own stiff hospital bed, Daniel scoffed, but the smile tugging at the corners of his lips gave him away.

"Do not call me a meatball."

Adjusting the nasal prongs that had been attached to a portable oxygen tank, Tony wheeled his suitcase next to the door and sat back down on his familiar bed.

The room was warm, courtesy of Phoenix's very own weather. It made Tony's skin itch in discomfort.

He didn't mind heat- but he definitely preferred the cold. He never had to worry about profuse sweating when it was cold. Which is another reason why he was excited to go to Forks. As far as he could remember, the sun made rare appearances in the wet town.

However this was also another obvious difference between him and his sister. Isabella hated the cold.

"You are a meatball, don't deny it."

Liv was an interesting individual. Her full name was Helena Liv Marigold but she loathed her first name so she insisted everyone called her 'Liv' and despite her humorous 'don't give a damn' demeanour, she was actually insanely intelligent.

Maybe she didn't seem like it, leaning back against her headboard with a lit cigarette in one hand and her signature cherry red butane lighter in the other.

She was pale, with dark circles around her eyes.

Her diagnosis was Anorexia Nervosa.  
Her weight was a staggering 78 lbs.

Then on the other side, completing their triangle of misfortune, was Daniel Evans or 'Danny E' as the two liked to call him.

He was the oldest out of the three, with a fluff of brown hair and dark eyes. He also had a form of lung cancer, but he was still undergoing treatment.

He was once part of the British army, but was discharged after he got injured and diagnosed. Then he moved back home to Phoenix for the familiarity.

Just as Liv took another drag from her cigarette, a nurse came in and grabbed it from her.

"Helena, how many times do we have to tell you- there's no smoking allowed in a hospital." He groaned, putting it out in one of the metal trash bins.

"Sorry Eric, but I haven't had one in ages and I get that greed is a sin or whatever but in my rather informed opinion: you can just go fuck yourself." Liv grinned wolfishly at the man.

The nurse looked exasperated.

"Helena, you're sharing a room with two lung cancer patients."

"Does it look like they care if I'm smoking?"

He took a moment to glance disheartedly at the two other males in the room, who had somewhat amused stares being quite used to these moments.

Realizing that arguing with the twenty-four year old was hopeless, he sighed.

"Don't let me catch you again."

"No promises." She sang.

Eric then turned to Tony,

"You've been cleared for the ride and your father has already installed an oxygen refill into your new house. All you need to worry about is taking your pain medications and carrying an oxygen tank."

Anthony nodded in acquiesce, not bothering to mention that he was tired of constant medication. Really, what was the point anyway.

"Your mother and sister will be here to pick you up within the hour."

"Thanks chief." Tony muttered as the nurse left the room again.

It was silent for a few more moments.

"Man, it's gonna be boring without you being around to geek out at all the little things." Liv stated, grabbing her box of cigarettes from her pillowcase.

Anthony Swan chuckled and nodded,

"And I'll miss your nerdiness."

"It really is the end of an era." Danny said, in his eyes was a love for the two that neither could fathom. "Not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss it."

"If that era is consisting of me sneaking McDonalds in for you two losers, all of us binging Grey's Anatomy and laughing at the mistakes and creating bad pickup lines and dirty jokes then... yeah I'm gonna miss it too." Liv smiled, putting yet another death stick between her lips and lighting it up.

"Hey Tony," Liv called making the boy's head shoot up. The woman tossed him a cigarette from her stash. "We can be like that cheesy John Green book. Plus it's something you can remember me by- fitting, isn't it?"

Allowing a grin to grace his face, Tony tucked the cigarette behind his ear without hesitation.

"Okay." Tony chuckled, nodding slightly.

"O- freakin- Kay." Liv laughed.

"You guys are like the kids I never had." Danny joked.

Their joy was abruptly cut off by a knock on the doorframe of the room as Anthony's mother popped her head in.

"Hey Mom." Tony spoke, moving around the nasal prongs again. 

"Hey sweetie, have you got everything packed and ready to go?"

Tony, deciding not to voice his answer, simply nodded and stood from the crisp bed sheets. The oxygen tank made an annoying wheelie sound as he rolled it towards his mother.

"Hold on a hot minute kid, you're not leaving without saying goodbye are you?" Danny's voice was tired and breathy as he tried to sit up in his bed, exhausted from his treatments.

Smirking slightly, Tony rushed to roll his life support back over to his friend's bed. Sitting on the corner, he leaned over Danny to hug him as tight as he could.

"You better email us." Liv teased as she too stood from her bed and sat on the opposite side of the bed. "And Skype constantly- we still have to trash talk and tell bad jokes man."

"Every chance I get." Anthony promised.

Renée watched from the door as her son said his goodbyes, a sad smile on her face. These friends meant the world to him.

"Hey," Danny coughed slightly and reached into his bedside drawer. Once he found what he was looking for he took one of Tony's hands and let something cold and metallic make its home there.

Opening his hand, Tony saw Daniel's old dog tags from when he was in the army.

"I want you to have them. You guys are my only immediate family so if I die with this cancer bullshit then I'll die knowing you won't let me be forgotten."

Smiling sadly, Anthony put the chain around his own neck and looked down at the tags.

Danny smiled back, "Now get out there and live out the rest of your days in a crappy high school."

"In a dismal town." Liv added.

"With disgustingly wet weather." Danny finished.

"But for the love of god, if you don't bone at least one guy before you die-"

"Ooookay- thanks for the going away cig Liv, and don't worry Danny I'll make sure to tell all of your stories in the best eulogy speech known to man." Anthony stood from the bed and let Liv hug him tight before going over to his mother yet again, using one hand to wheel his oxygen tank behind him.

As she grabbed his suitcase and they walked, Renée looked over at her son, who was nodding goodbyes to different nurses as they made their way to the front entrance. One, who's name tag said 'Eric' gave the cigarette behind Anthony's ear a glare before he rushed away to the boy's old room muttering something about 'no smoking'.

Once they were out in the parking lot, Tony hopped into the back seat of his mother's vehicle while she put his luggage in the trunk.

"Anthony."

"Isabella." Tony acknowledged his sister in the front seat with a glance.

"What's with the cigarette?"

"Liv's going away present."

Bella nodded, despite not knowing much about Liv.

In many ways, you could tell the two teens were related, they had the same thick brown hair and dark brown eyes. They both looked tired and pale.

Yet they couldn't be more different.

Anthony likened their relationship to that of a cat and dog.

Accept the awkward, slightly stupid dog pitied the sick and sardonic cat and for some reason- didn't know how to act.

He hated it.

She walked on eggshells around him, he could feel it. Just as everyone did.

Most of the time they just decided talking wasn't meant for them- so they resorted to staying quiet in one another's presence. Tony had a feeling it was something else though. Bella only got really quiet after it was announced his cancer had become terminal.

Renée got back into the car and they experienced a relatively silent ride to the airport.

Goodbyes were short and sweet, both teens not wanting their mother to start bawling in public and soon enough Tony was sitting in an airplane seat with his tank sitting on the floor between his legs.

He could feel Bella's stares when he took out his medication during the ride.

He was used to it, of course, but he really wished she'd keep her curiosity to herself for once.

— ONCE THEIR FLIGHT LANDED, CHARLIE SWAN WAS THERE TO PICK UP HIS KIDS WITH HIS BLACK AND WHITE POLICE CRUISER. Bella sat in the front seat yet again, because she really would prefer not having to sit in the backseat of a cop's car.

Anthony didn't mind, it gave him more space to set down his oxygen tank.

The car ride was awkward to say the least. Charlie Swan wasn't necessarily a social guy- but he was making his best attempt.

"Your hair's longer." He commented, glancing at Isabella's mane of hair,

"I cut it since last time I saw you."

Tony fought the urge to groan. Charlie looked out the window into the side mirror, as if trying to avoid the tension in the car.

"Guess it grew out again."

It was silent for a few moments.

"So Tony, how are Liv and Daniel?" Charlie asked, glancing at his son in the rear view mirror. Charlie had met Anthony's friends a while ago when he visited him in Phoenix, and he'd talked to them over the phone since then.

Unlike Bella, Tony called his father almost every week and Charlie always looked forward to hearing from him.

"They're really good." Tony smiled. "Yeah- Daniel is still going through chemo and they think he's gonna be okay. Liv is at about 80 pounds right now and in no mood to get better but she's still kicking. They miss talking to you."

Chief Swan chuckled, "yeah and I miss them I guess. Liv always knows how to brighten a guy's day."

"That's only because she likes you. She thinks you're cool."

"That's flattering. She's a child prodigy slash private detective who used to work with an FBI agent and she thinks I'm cool." It was like Tony could see his dad puff out his chest a bit. He loved the attention, even if he was awkwardly gracious.

"She's going to work with the FBI again actually. Once Gideon is back in business."

"And when do they think that'll be?"

"Whenever they find a use for him again I guess. He can't stay on medical leave forever."

"Ain't that the truth."

Bella turned around in her seat to see Anthony better.

"Since when is Liv a prodigy?" She asked, not knowing the sick girl's past.

"Since she graduated high school at thirteen and solved more than seventy cases before reaching age twenty."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Essentially she idolized Hermione Granger's smarts when she was younger and that followed her into her adult life."

Isabella glanced to the side before refocusing her attention on Anthony. 

"And Daniel?"

"War veteran."

Bella nodded and turned to look out the window again at the dark and cloudy sky. Anthony did the same, looking out the window to see Forks' welcome sign.

Welcome to Forks!  
Population 3,120

— SEEING HIS OLD ROOM WAS WEIRD FOR ANTHONY. It was like time had stood still. The curtains were still a fabulous gold colour and the walls were still dark green, but his old drawings and marvel comic memorabilia tried to hide it.

Just as Tony fell back against his bed with his oxygen tank on the floor next to him, his dad peeked his head in through the door.

"I was just telling your sister that I cleared some space off the bathroom shelves for you."

"Thanks Dad." Tony smiled and sat up, coughing slightly. Charlie took his sitting up as an invitation to enter the room.

Sitting down on his son's desk chair, he rolled himself forward to see Tony properly.

"How have you been?"

Tony knew it was a question that was bound to come up at some point and as much as he didn't want to, he had to tell the truth.

"I'm dying." He stated unforgivingly. Charlie bowed his head in remorse, wishing he hadn't said anything. "It's slow and it's painful, but it's bearable enough."

"Don't talk like that Tony. You're not gonna die."

"Dad," Tony moved to the edge of his bed so he was sitting next to his father, trying to provide comfort. "I am. I am dying. I've made my peace and I've accepted my end and there's gonna come a time where you'll have to accept it too. There's just nothing left for me."

He didn't want to sound mean, or self loathing or pitiful, because he was none of that. He was simply stating the truth about his condition. He was dying. There was nothing that could change that anymore.

Before either man could say anything else, Bella, who had been hovering at the door way, finally spoke up.

"Hey Dad, someone just pulled into our driveway."

Charlie gave his son one last look before standing up and rushing down the stairs.

Tony sighed, looking at the curtains and trying to think of ways that could have gone better.

"You better not die until after senior year."

Looking up, he realized that Isabella was still leaning against his door frame. "Why's that?"

"It'd be nice to see my brother graduate from high school." The brunette woman snapped before disappearing down the stairs after their father.

Sighing, Anthony adjusted his nasal prongs and fell back against his pillows. He untucked the cigarette from behind his ear and stared at it in his hand. Isabella was angry with him. He should have known.

The silent treatment was her way of showing her anger. Anger at what, he couldn't tell.

Staring up at his ceiling, he remembered how excited he'd been to move to forks and see his sister every day.

Now a sick thought came to his mind,

That he'd much rather be with Liv and Daniel in his stickly warm hospital room, than be living in the room across from his raging younger sister.


	3. TWO

CHAPTER TWO  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. home of the spartans !

— THE CULLEN HOUSE WAS QUIET, any movement sounded like the padding footfall of a lightweight cat and the only real ambience was a soft piano ballad. Each member of the family was doing something different, yet they chose to exist in the same room. 

The calm piano was coming from the rich looking instrument in the corner, with a bronze haired boy drifting his hands along the ivory keys. 

The buff looking brunette- almost black haired boy was sitting on the couch on his phone with his arm wrapped around a flawless blonde woman. 

A long haired blond male sat on a plush armchair reading a book on the civil war, scoffing and rolling his eyes. 

The oldest looking couple of the house were placing piles of books back in their respective places on shelves, while a small pixie-like woman followed after them with a stack in her own hands.

Suddenly, the books in the small woman's hands went tumbling to the floor. She stood stiff as a board while her family watched her in mild curiosity. Within a moment, the woman snapped out of it, her and the bronze haired boy smiling lightly.

"Alice, what did you see?" the oldest looking blond in the room asked, setting a few books off to the side.

Alice ignored the question and instead turned to the boy with the blond hair, who's civil war book had fallen to the floor in his shock.

"Since when are you gay!" Alice shrieked, laughing in excitement. The boy looked confused.

"Last I checked, I wasn't."

The bronze haired boy laughed as well, "Not for long." He stated.

The tough brunette on the couch stood up, pulling the blonde woman along with him. "I'm confused. Alice, what did you see?" The Boy repeated the earlier question.

Alice smiled wide. "Jasper's mate." She laughed. "He's coming."

— ANTHONY WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN TO GREET BILLY AND JACOB BLACK, but he was far too exhausted from the flight so he simply changed into his pyjamas and switched out his nasal cannula for the oxygen concentrator Charlie had put in the work to get into his son's room. He had to let his tank refill anyway.

When he first had to use a nasal cannula, it was a difficult time. They made his upper lip itch and the feeling in his nose was funny, not to mention that he was attached to something. 

Sleeping was always weird now, he never knew if he would have a good, well deserved sleep or if he was going to wake up in the middle of the night drowning in his own body when his lungs decided to fill up with fluid. 

Luckily enough, there were no problems that night and Tony woke up feeling much better than he had been the night before. Though that rejuvenated feeling ran from his mind screaming as soon as Bella called for him to get ready for school.

It wasn't necessarily school that bothered him. It was more so the people. It was like one huge tent topped circus and he was the main attraction. How could you not be when you lived so differently than the rest of them.

So begrudgingly, he hopped up into Bella's brand new rust bucket truck and set his backpack and oxygen tank on the floor between his legs. Bella followed soon after, situating herself into the driver's seat.

Anthony wasn't allowed to drive. They were too worried that something could suddenly happen to him and he'd lose control of the vehicle. He couldn't care less if he was driving or not, so long as he got to where he was going.

The ride was almost silent, save for the stupidly loud rumble of the truck's engine. Taking a moment to observe his sister, Tony turned his head to analyze her.

Her eyebrows were furrowed and her pale fingers were gripping the steering wheel with ferocity.

He didn't have to be a genius like Liv to tell something was bothering Bella.

"I'm sorry." Anthony spoke, both startling and confusing Isabella.

"For what, exactly?"

"It's your first day at this new school in a small town, you're already nervous and I'm just making it worse." Anthony turned to look out the window, not noticing the surprised look on his sister's face.

"Tony," Bella started, a firm tone in her voice. "I'm not ashamed of you. You're sick, that's something you can't control."

"Then why are you angry with me?"

It fell silent yet again- and for once, it stayed that way and Anthony couldn't tell if he'd found the source of anger or if Bella just didn't have an answer.

Either way, when they pulled into a Forks high school parking lot Tony rushed to gather his things and get out of the weird tension of the truck.

Before his feet even hit the pavement, he could feel all eyes on them. Struggling to ignore their gazes or Bella's voice calling after him, he pulled his bag over his shoulders and grabbed his oxygen tank. The rolling sound seemed to echo loudly in the parking lot, almost making Tony cringe in embarrassment. But he kept moving, trying not to show how simultaneously uncomfortable and annoyed he was.

He made it into the main office building without any difficulty and retrieved a schedule, locker number, passcode and directions to the infirmary building.

And again, he was outside trying to avoid everyone around him whilst also finding his first class of the day. Art.

To be entirely honest, he didn't mind art. In fact- he rather enjoyed it.

It took him a few minutes to gain his bearings and navigate the map of the school on the back of his schedule, but once he did it was pretty easy to find his classroom.

He knew Bella was probably going to have difficulty finding her first class- but if she wasn't going to tell him why she was in a mood, he frankly didn't want to deal with her brooding.

As he walked up the stairs of the art building, a light sounding voice called out to him. He sighed, almost predicting the conversation that was about to happen.  
'Why are you wearing that nose thing? Do you have cancer or something?'  
'As a matter of fact-'

But as Anthony turned to see the owner of the voice, he was met with a tiny, pale girl who had eyes of gold and hair splayed in tufts, a cute little choker around her neck.

"Hi! You must be Anthony, I'm Alice Cullen." The girl, Alice, spoke with a voice like honey.

"Yeah, Anthony Swan." He held out his free hand to Alice, who shook it gently. He couldn't help but notice her skin was freezing temperature. He didn't comment though, not really minding the cold. "You can call me Tony though."

Alice nodded happily.

"So are you on your way to art class?" Alice asked.

Tony took a moment to look at the sign outside the building that claimed it was the art room, pointing at it as he spoke.

"It'd be weird if I wasn't."

His tone wasn't quite bitter, he tried his best to make it come across as a joke. Alice was the only person that had the courage to come up to him and not talk about his illness immediately. So far, she seemed nice.

Luckily, Alice understood and giggled lightly.

"Right, I forgot that was there." She mumbled. "Well I have art too! Maybe you'd like to sit with me? Unless you have somewhere else to sit."

Tony smiled, a real genuine smile.  
He was thankful that Alice had such a kind generosity.

"I'd love to sit with you."

Alice squealed lightly. Normally Tony would have found it annoying, but there was something about Alice that made her instantly likable. At least to Tony.

Then she did something he wasn't expecting, she linked her arm with his free arm and went to tug him into class.

Tony chuckled at her impatience, picking up his oxygen tank with his left hand and trying his best to level his breathing as he followed Alice's pulls up the stairs.

Once they made it into the classroom, all eyes were on them. For a moment, Tony tried to pull his arm away from his newfound friend. Of course, he was the newcomer with an illness. People think he's weird and he really didn't want to drag Alice down with him.

But she wouldn't budge, she kept her arm wound around his like an iron clamp and for a moment, Tony smiled down at her pixie-like figure.

But then they passed a few desks, heading to the free tables at the back, and he heard whispers.

"Look it's that new kid, what's he doing with the weird Cullen girl."

"Oh my god Alice Cullen is actually interacting with someone."

"Maybe it's pity because he's sick."

Alice heard the last one and spun to face the person who said it.

The girl had mousy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, with a resting look on her face that screamed 'I'm gonna gossip about everything you tell me.'

"It's not pity, I'll have you know that Anthony seems like a very nice person." She huffed, tugging Tony all the way to the back of the class. As they sat down and Anthony made sure his things were organized he finally turned to Alice who was digging pencils out of her bag.

"Thanks for that."

Alice smiled brightly yet again.

"I meant every word."

Her saying this brought along a warm feeling in Anthony, "I think we're going to be good friends." He stated.

Alice's smile widened if possible, "Me too."

The teacher stepped in as Alice finished her sentence and began to talk about shading techniques.

Neither Alice nor Tony paid very good attention, more focused on chattering quietly to each other and doodling drawings in their sketchbooks, and if they were called upon both knew exactly how to answer.

It was a great class, and Tony was insanely glad he'd have a whole semester of mornings with Alice.

Nearer to the end of the period, both of them pulled out their schedules to compare hoping they'd have another class together.

"We seem to share lunch, trig in 4th and biology in 5th. You have history second period, my brother has that too maybe you can sit with him." Alice bit her lip as she looked back and forth between the two slips of paper. Anthony couldn't help but smile. Alice was so sweet to think of him in classes they didn't even share. She was even polite enough to not mention the fact that he was supposed to have two more classes. He'd been excused from gym, for medical reasons and Spanish so he could find the infirmary and replace his oxygen tank.

"If he'll have me." Tony chuckled.

Alice looked back up and grinned.

"I can introduce you two before 2nd period if you want- Jazz is really amazing at history so you'd be in good hands." She slid his schedule back over to him, he took the paper and stuffed it into his bag.

"I can usually hold my own in history but it'd be nice to know someone else in that class."

"Great! We can just go to his locker after." 

The rest of the period remained relatively silent, despite there being a few giggles and chuckles between Alice and Tony. There were students giving them weird looks, confused glances or envious glares. Normally it would have bothered Tony, but with Alice things seemed a lot easier.

— THE END OF THE PERIOD ROLLED AROUND PRETTY QUICKLY. Soon enough, art was done and over and the Cullen girl and Swan Boy found themselves shoving their art supplies back into their bags.

Alice had latched onto Tony's arm yet again and Tony followed obediently, not quite knowing where to go anyway.

After a short walk they came to a few lockers and Alice seemed to find the exact person she was looking for.

"Jazz! Look who I've met."

The boy that looked up at the sound of Alice's dreamy honey-esque voice was easily one of the most beautiful human beings that Anthony had ever seen.

His hair was long and dark blond in colour, his eyes were similar to Alice's in their golden hue. He was lean and tall, with pale skin and a grey cable knit sweater that went down passed his hands, though he had the sleeves rolled up to his wrists.

Anthony saw that the pendant on Alice's choker was the same as a wristband her brother was wearing.

Comparing Alice and her brother now, he could see that being gorgeous must run in the family. It was like gods themselves had chiseled their features from marble.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he decided the polite thing to do would be to introduce himself but realized that Alice was way ahead of him.

"Jasper, this is Anthony Swan." Alice held out her hands as if he was some great masterpiece to be displayed proudly. Tony just laughed and held out a hand for Jasper to accept.

"Just Tony is fine." He told the blond.

Jasper's eyes looked a bit darker for a moment as he glanced down at Alice, who gave him a mischievous smile, but they quickly returned to their normal colour as he grabbed hold of Tony's hand and shook it.

"Jasper Hale." He introduced "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tony noticed the slight southern drawl to the blond's words, and the upturned lip that came with it.

Tony noticed the cold temperatures of Jasper's hand too. But he was more focused on the 'Hale' part of this interaction.

"Hale?" Tony inquired.

Jasper nodded and gently closed his locker, "I'm adopted."

So they were just really damn lucky to look like that.

If they were to turn around, they'd see Alice Cullen watching them like a hawk. Or at least a hawk on a sugar rush.

"So Jasper, Tony has next period with you, why don't you make him feel welcome." Alice more so stated than asked.

Jasper looked over at Tony again, only now noticing the oxygen tank he was dragging behind him. 

"Sure." Jasper smiled.

Alice clapped her hands in excitement and squeezed Jasper into a hug before doing the same with Anthony. Then she fled off down the corridor with a dance in her step.

"D'you need any help with that?"

Anthony is jerked away from watching Alice by Jasper's voice. Quickly realizing the Hale boy was talking about his oxygen tank he widened his eyes in surprise.

"No, it's okay, I've got it." He said.

Jasper chucked and adjusted his shoulder bag before leaning down and grabbing the tank from Anthony's hands, lifting it off the floor with ease.

"You're probably tired of carrying it around, let me help."

Anthony couldn't help but just nod in relief, only now noticing how sore his shoulder was.

So they walked side by side to their history class, asking some mundane get to know you questions back and forth, and ignoring the judgemental looks and whispers they received.


	4. THREE

CHAPTER THREE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. civil war and comic books !

— AS BOTH BOYS WALK INTO THE HISTORY CLASSROOM, the students were in shock yet again, as was the teacher for some reason.

From the whispers Anthony had heard, he assumed it wasn't just him but Jasper as well. It seemed like Jasper and Alice didn't associate well with people. Which made Tony wonder why exactly Alice had approached him in the first place. Though he couldn't quite complain, he was thankful to have her through his first day at a new high school. Especially when he couldn't stand to be in the same room as his sister.

The idea of Isabella made his head hurt. He loved his sister endlessly but if she was angry with him because he was sick, what was he supposed to do about it?

The history teacher stood from her desk and smoothed down her pencil skirt, obviously going to approach the two boys at the doorway

For a moment, Anthony was nervous that he was going to have to do that stupid 'introduce yourself to the class' thing. He could easily come off as rude or aggressive when put on the spot and that was not something he wanted Jasper to witness.

Grabbing his oxygen tank back from the blond, Tony gestured for him to find his seat. Jasper gave him a glance and then made his way to the back of the class.

"Hi, you must be Anthony Swan, I'm Ms Garish and I'll be your history teacher for this semester." The middle aged woman greeted, placing a textbook in his hand. Tony just smiled lightly, trying his best to be polite. Then she addressed the students in their seats, who were muttering back and forth to each other.

"Now, I'd like you to warmly welcome Anthony Swan to our history class. He's just arrived from Arizona!"

Tony did cringe this time, against his will. But it was just the way Garish said it. As if Arizona is the most interesting thing about him.

"Anthony do you have anything to say to the class?"

Looking around the oddly lit classroom, his eyes caught every single pair who had their heads together, no doubt gossiping about him.

"Yeah I'd just like to get any questions out of the way before someone starts assuming my illness." Tony stated casually shrugging his shoulders. A few hands shot up.

"Why do you have that nose thing?"

Ms Garish herself looked offended as she glared at the girl that spoke with a ferocious gaze. Her name suited her in that moment.

"It's called a nasal cannula. You may not have one but they're pretty common." Anthony could feel his naturally bitter tone coming out full force in his voice but at this point he could care less, he figured in any case he might as well get over the questions early on and let Forks' trusty gossiping system do it's work.

"So what exactly do you use it for?"

"It's hooked up to this oxygen tank, it helps me to breathe properly or at the very least regulate my breathing." Anthony pointed to the tank at his feet.

"Why do you need it?" A guy at the front asked.

"Because I have lung cancer, any other questions? Don't wanna allow room for rumours do we?" 

"Why don't you-" the last question was cut off by Garish, who was obviously very ashamed of her class.

"Okay I think that's enough, children. Anthony why don't you sit with Jasper in the back."

Anthony then remembered Jasper Hale, the god amongst mortals who was sat on one of the uncomfortable, plastic seats at the back.

As students went back to talking with their partners and Garish approached Tony, he locked eyes with Jasper.

Anthony, despite his bitter embarrassment, felt a sense of calm rush over him as he looked into those sunshine eyes. He'd never felt more at peace.

For a moment he was confused at himself. He was just annoyed at his school's student population a moment ago. Yet now there was nothing, and Jasper's lips pulled up slightly as he broke eye contact and looked out the window at the grey overcast.

Furrowing his eyebrows he went to sit down next to the blond, until Ms Garish called after him.

"Yes Ms Garish?"

She looked at him with dark greyish green eyes, looking very plain and normal, and for a moment she smiled at him. Glancing back at Anthony's maybe-newfound friend, the woman nodded in approval.

"Jasper Hale is a very respectable boy, very quiet. But he's always alone. I'm glad you've welcomed him as your friend. I hardly see the Cullens with anyone outside their family nowadays."

Anthony was now confused as to why his teacher was telling his this. Then, he had to remind himself, this is Forks. It's like gossiping was invented here.

So instead of saying anything, he simply nodded, avoiding eye contact, and grabbed the handle of his oxygen tank, rolling it loudly to the back of the class and stopping it next to his new desk with a sharp squeak.

— HISTORY WAS A SOMEWHAT BORING CLASS. Anthony did love learning about it, but not when it was taught by an attractive middle aged woman who didn't even like her job.

However, the period did give him the time to admire Jasper's profile. His features were sharp and pronounced but oh so delicate on his face. His pale skin looked smooth and lovely, and provided a great contrast to his pink lips.

God sakes, Tony thought as he shuffled around his tubing to flip the page of his textbook, I'm such a trainwreck gay.

Deciding to steal another glance at the boy, Tony also came to a realization.

Then again, Liv would be proud.

Making a mental note to call his friends back in Arizona, he wondered what they'd be doing right now.

Daniel would probably be awaiting his next treatment, alone though since Liv had most likely been released from the hospital by now. No doubt she'd be back next month though after burning off whatever calories the I.V forced into her.

Anthony could never understand why Liv did what she did and he certainly didn't support it.

His mother often asked him why he became friends with someone like her. Renée always thought maybe Liv was a bad influence.

What she didn't understand though, is while he didn't support her illness, he did support her.

Then there was Daniel, he remembered Renée asking about him one night. 

'He's was in a war, isn't he a little old to be your friend? And besides, why would you put yourself through that when you know he might not have a chance?'

Sometimes he hated his mother. She just didn't understand the way he worked sometimes.

He of course had to remind her that maybe it was because he too had no chance.

Daniel's dog tags around his neck seemed to have a new weight to them, as Tony became painfully aware of their existence.

With all these thoughts floating around of missing his friends and being angry with his mother, he decided for now he'd just try and actually focus on his history lesson. 

He needed normality- he'd asked to just be a normal kid, even if he had to pretend. And this was it, wasn't it? 

A normal kid would be in school, listening to a teacher drone on and on about things that the teacher themselves wasn't even alive to see. 

A normal kid would be making friends and hanging out with his sister. 

A normal kid would be living each day, almost guaranteed they'd have another one tomorrow.

But he wasn't a normal kid. No, he was a kid with cancer. One of the things that made you the most unique person in school. He hated it. He could feel the stares even now, of people in the class that couldn't let it go.

Deciding not to bother paying attention anymore, he placed his head in his arms, folded on his desk.

Next to him, Jasper could feel Anthony's inner turmoil and watched as the boy lowered his head to the cold wood.

Suddenly, again, Anthony felt a sense of calm wash away all those negative feelings, and again he was confused.

Was he becoming bipolar too?

Then suddenly the bell rang and students practically sprinted to the door.

Anthony lifted his head to see if Jasper was one of those people and was shot with surprise when he saw Jasper calmly and carefully putting his things back into his bag. Tony decided to do the same, he'd have to do it up quickly if he wanted enough time to find the infirmary.

"What class do you have next?" A rough southern accent shook Tony to the bones as he zipped up his bag.

"I actually don't have a class right now." Anthony stated, pulling his bag over his shoulders and grabbing his oxygen tank. Jasper nodded,

"Why's that?"

"I've been excused from Spanish so I can replace my oxygen cylinder." Anthony explained as they stepped out of the classroom together.

"Me too." Jasper nodded again before realizing his mistake, "I mean I've been excused from Spanish, not the oxygen thing."

Tony chuckled, "I figured as much."

Allowing Jasper to recover from that moment, they stopped walking and just stood facing each other, letting other students rush past them.

"Why have you been excused?"

"Already fluent in the language. I took lessons when I was seven." Jasper proudly stated.

"That's total bull. You probably binged Dora and your parents thought you were gifted when you repeated Spanish phrases so they gave you a free pass." Tony laughed at the look on Jasper's face.

"Yes of course, you caught me, my Spanish vocabulary is limited to 'hola', 'soy' and 'dora'." Jasper chuckled, putting a hand to his chest.

"How tragic." Anthony pouted mockingly.

Then a somewhat awkward silence fell over the two.

"So-"  
"If-"

Tony tried his best to fight the warm feeling in his face as they spoke at the same time, chuckling embarrassedly Tony decided to try his sentence again.

"Would you mind showing me to the nurse's building?"

It wasn't like he didn't know where it was, he'd studied his map enough to know exactly where to look. Not only that, but the sticky note in his pocket had bolded instructions. That's not something he would tell Jasper though, especially when the blond allowed that wonderful smile to grace his face.

"Of course, not like I was doing anything anyway."

The area had pretty much cleared out by the time they decided to move.

"What would you be doing if I wasn't here?" Anthony asked.

Jasper shrugged, "Maybe sitting around outside, re-reading a book or something."

Anthony smiled, of course it'd be re-reading books. Jasper seemed like the kind to read. Trying to keep up the small talk, the brunette looked over at Jasper.

"What kind of books do you read?"

Jasper seemed like he wanted to laugh, "Mostly history. Civil war, stuff like that."

"You're into the Civil War?"

"You could say that." Jasper laughed. Changing the topic, Jasper turned to the Swan boy.

"What things do you read?"

Anthony bowed his head in embarrassment and laughed lightly. Jasper was confused, he figured book genres would be a safe subject.

"I don't know." Tony waved an arm in dismissal, "Mostly comic books or whatever. Nothing like the more informative Civil war books." He tried to laugh off the awkwardness.

Sometimes he really was his father's kid.

Jasper just shook his head, "I wish I could follow comic books but sometimes it's like my mind is from a different time. They're more confusing." He furrowed his eyebrows. He was speaking the truth- for some reason his brain just couldn't focus on the speech bubbles and pictures.

Anthony looked personally offended.

"Okay, genius, you can teach me about the Civil war- and I'll read and explain comic books to you. Deal?"

Jasper smiled widely, feeling the sheer excitement coming off the other boy, which in turn made him excited.

"Deal."


	5. FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. richard grayson, the hottest robin !

— FINDING THE MEDICAL BUILDING WASN'T REALLY THAT DIFFICULT, and when Tony climbed the steps he half expected Jasper to leave and find something else to do. Instead he hopped up the stairs ahead of Tony and held open the door, following the brunette inside.

Their visit was quick and mostly consisted of them sitting against some chairs and entertaining each other while the nurse switched out is oxygen tank. 

"I can't believe you've never heard of Richard Grayson." Tony stated with wide eyes.

Jasper laughed, "I told you, I don't really watch hero movies."

"And why not? They're incredible."

"What is it with you and Richard Grayson anyway?" Jasper asked, glancing around the clean room, glad that no one else was in there.

"'Cause," Anthony started, unzipping his bag and rooting around for his pain meds. "He's by far the hottest Robin." Saying that, the boy stopped his movements, internally cringing at himself.

Dude, your gay is showing- c'mon man we like Jasper, don't scare him off.

But Jasper just laughed again, "We'll have to see about that."

It became silent as the nurse came back accept for Anthony's quiet thanks. Tony then folded the tubing behind his ears again, appreciating that he didn't have to rely on his own lungs anymore and twisted the lid back onto his medication. Jasper hadn't even noticed Tony had taken them.

"So would you like to sit with my family and I at lunch? They can be somewhat intimidating at first, mostly Emmett because of his weird humour, but they're an okay bunch." Jasper asked as he jumped back up onto his feet to hold the door open again.

Anthony was stunned. Alice and Jasper had been so nice with him- he could hardly believe it.

Then he remembered Isabella.

"Actually, I might try sitting with my sister. She's pissy with me right now but I should make sure she's not alone." Tony sighed.

"Why's she so angry?"

"Hell, if I know. Thank you for the offer though."

Jasper just bowed his head in thought.

"How many people are in your family?" Tony inquired, wishing for the conversation to continue.

"There's seven in total."

"Your parents, you and Alice and then three others?"

"Yeah. Edward, Emmett and Rosalie- my uh... My twin."

"All adopted?"

"Most of us."

Anthony hummed and then fell silent just as a loud bell rang throughout the area, students flooding out of their classes.

"That's lunch," Jasper stated, taking a step back. "I'm gonna find them then, I wish you the best with your sister." He smirked.

Tony just smiled, turning away and heading toward the cafeteria.

— STUMBLING THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE CAFETERIA, Tony struggled to avoid the rushing students. He was tripping over people, having to manoeuvre his oxygen tank around them. But eventually, he found himself standing at a clear patch of floor.

Anthony scanned the area for his sister, and spotted Bella sitting at a table with two other girls. Tony was impressed, by now he'd sort of expected Bella to be sitting in the bathroom eating lunch by herself.

He grabbed himself a tray of food, with a single banana that he probably wasn't going to touch and a bottle of water.

For a moment he wasn't going to approach the table, thinking against causing a scene with his sister. But, seemingly against his will, he found himself staring at his beat up converse as he began dragging himself across the cafeteria.

"You could always go for eating disorders, speedo padding on the swim team." Anthony caught wind of the conversation that was going on, finding Isabella to be suggesting something to which a brunette woman with a camera smiled.

"Actually that's a good one."

Then Anthony was standing behind Bella, and the others at the table seemed to notice. Tony recognized one girl as the girl Alice snapped at in Art.

"Oh uh- hi?"

Bella turned her head to see Tony, then perked up a bit.

"Oh guys, this is my brother Anthony."

The other girls at the table just nodded for a moment, to surprised to say anything else.

"I'm Angela." The brunette spoke up.

"And uh- hi I'm Jessica, I'm in your art period."

Anthony just acknowledged both with a nod and sat down on a free chair next to Isabella, sliding his tray into the table.

Bella took a look at the tray and squinted in confusion.

"My meds have a side effect of appetite loss. I'm not really that hungry. Don't blame me." Tony explained quietly.

Then, as any conversation died down in the group of four, something caught Isabella's eye.

"Who are they?"

Anthony looked to see Jasper, Alice and supposedly their other foster siblings.

"The Cullens." Angela trailed, glancing back at them.

"They're doctor and Mrs Cullen's foster kids. They moved down here from Alaska like, a few years ago." Jessica added in a low tone.

Anthony didn't quite like the way Jessica's voice sounded. Like she was about to drop the hottest gossip in Forks.

"They kinda keep to themselves." Angela stated, seeming a bit more polite about the situation.

"Yeah but two of them are together. Like, together together."

Leading the group of Cullens through the door was a beefy looking brunette with his hand intertwined with a beautiful blonde's.

"The blonde girl, that's Rosalie, and the big dark haired guy Emmett, there're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

Angela was quick to remind that technically- they aren't actually related, and Jessica responded stating it was still gross because they live together.

Tony then saw Alice and Jasper, who had walked in together. Alice seemed to be dancing across the floor, scanning the room. Then she saw Anthony and waved excitedly.

Jasper saw too, and simply smiled, but it looked like he was going to be sick.

Tuning back into the conversation, Tony wanted to hear what Jessica had to say about the two.

"And um okay, the little dark haired girl is Alice, she's really weird, and that's Jasper the blond one who looks like he's in pain."

Anthony decided to ditch the conversation as soon as she said 'weird'. Grabbing his water bottle, he dropped his banana onto Bella's tray and tucked his own tray under her's. Just as he was turning away, Isabella called after him.

"Where are you going?"

Anthony rolled his eyes.

"To sit somewhere else. I like Alice, she's actually really kind. But I see you've found your friends with a shallow bunch and to be entirely honest, I don't want to sit here and listen to that garbage." Tony muttered quietly, so as only Bella could hear.

"Anthony, they're really nice. Just give them a chan-"

Tony didn't hear the last of her sentence as he had turned and yanked his oxygen tank after him, heading straight towards the Cullen table. Though he did catch the quite loud 'what is he doing?' from Jessica as he walked away.

Alice saw him approaching the table and stood from her chair to welcome him, giving him a bone crushing hug.

Pulling away from the hug, he sent a grin and nod to Jasper, who forcefully gave him a matching smile. Jessica was a bit right, Jasper did look like he was in pain.

"Anthony, this is Emmett and Rosalie." Alice introduced.

Seeing Rosalie up close, Anthony realized just how gorgeous she really was. Where Alice was delicately beautiful, Rosalie had some sort of charm about her. Tony couldn't help himself,

"Holy shit you're hot." 

Rosalie chuckled, "Thanks, I know."

Emmett sat forward and smiled, "Hey man, that's my girlfriend you're hitting on." He joked.

"Dude if it makes you feel any better, you're lookin' mighty fine as well." Tony winked as he sat in the chair Alice had pulled over for him.

Emmett smirked, and blew a mocking kiss.

Then they were joined by a boy with dark bronze hair.

Tony leaned back in his seat and stared at the newcomer.

"Okay so if we've got Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett then you are...." Anthony trailed off, wracking his brain for the name. It started with an E, of that he was sure.

"Ethan?"

The family laughed. The bronze haired boy also chortled slightly, shaking his head no.

"Elijah?"

"Not quite there, Tone." Emmett was sniggering into his clenched fist. For a moment, Tony paused. No one had ever called him 'Tone'. It was some sort of foreign name and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it though.

Snapping his finger, "I got it." He claimed, pointing at the boy. "It's Edward."

The Cullens cheered, somewhat mockingly, but it was all in good fun.

"My name's Anthony, in case you hadn't heard." Tony greeted.

Edward nodded, "That's actually my middle name." He smiled.

Conversation remained lighthearted, they asked questions back and forth and teased each other endlessly. It was a nice little group, Anthony had decided. He also realized, oddly, how well he fit into their tight knit family. He wouldn't go as far as to say he was as beautiful and flawless as them, but they were all incredibly pale, and so far not one of the Cullen's had eaten anything. He didn't ask why, because they didn't ask why. He just enjoyed spending time with them.

"That's another 7 points for Alice." Edward announced, scribbling the score down on a piece of paper. "Next up is Emmett." He stated, clicking his pen a few times.

Emmett grabbed one of the pre-balled up strips of paper and aimed his throwing arm toward the trash can about 12 feet away.

As he threw it, Tony was almost sure Emmett would get at least another 5 points. But surprisingly, the ball danced around the rim and then slid off. The table booed and Emmett began pouting.

"Looks like Emmett takes a zero, stepping up to the plate is Anthony."

Alice cheered on Tony, as they were on the same team. Jasper and Edward opted to stay out of it, but Rosalie and Emmett were proving to be some crazy difficult opponents.

Anthony snatched the ball out of the air when Rosalie tossed it to him. And then he focused on the trash can.

He was positive he wasn't going to get it in, but like with Emmett's toss, he surprised himself and the paper was thrown directly into the trash can.

"I call hacks." Emmett groaned, laying his face on the table for a moment before pulling back up with an easy going grin.

"You're just jealous of my skill." Anthony smirked.

Edward, still keeping score and commentating spoke up, "No hit against the wall but it did go in, that's a full five points."

Suddenly the bell rang, and the group would be forced to disperse.

Grabbing his partly empty water bottle off the table, Anthony stood from his seat and downed the rest before pressurizing it between his hands and dunking that into the trash can too.

"Extra five for me, Eddie." He called out.

Emmett's eyebrows shot up in surprise, before it twisted into a grimace.

"It wasn't even your turn!" The brunette stated childishly.

"Enjoy your next class children!" Anthony yelled out to all the Cullens, who hummed or groaned in response.

"Well Tony, Rosalie and I are off to trig!" Alice claimed, linking arms with Anthony yet again as Rosalie followed behind with a smirk.

"I didn't realize you had trig with us Rose?" Anthony spoke over his shoulder while Rosalie caught up next to them.

"Well I guess you're lucky." Rosalie spoke in a mock flirt tone.

"Are you kidding? Two of my favourite Cullen girls in one class, of course I'm lucky." Anthony chuckled. Alice giggled lightly.

"You haven't met Esme yet." She reminded.

"Well, I'm sure I'd love her too." Tony decided not to hover on the fact that it was basically an offer to meet their foster mother. Maybe some time in the near future, but he was certainly not ready to meet anyone's parents.

Instead, he just took his arm from Alice's grasp and wrapped it around her shoulders.

As the trio walked to their next class' building, they got a lot of stares. But none of them paid any mind. Well, Alice didn't. Rosalie and Anthony took turns glaring at a select few students.

Tony liked her fire. Rosalie seemed like someone he could get along with, from what he'd seen.


	6. FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. tom from accounting !

— THE REST OF THE DAY WAS UNEVENTFUL. Tony enjoyed a wonderful class with two wondrous female Cullens, and then Alice dragged him away to biology where his eyes were once again blessed by Jasper.

Then, before he knew it, Tony was striding towards Bella's sad excuse for a truck.

Noticing Isabella was already in the driver's seat, Tony wrenched open the door with a little difficulty and ditched his bag on the floor along with his oxygen tank. Huffing slightly, he tugged himself up into the vehicle and slammed the door.

"Isabella." He greeted in a condescending tone, staring out the windshield at the dark pavement of the parking lot which was soaked from rain.

"Anthony." Bella addressed as a warning statement. The girl waited until Anthony had put on his seatbelt before allowing the engine to roar to life, backing out of the parking space.

"We're meeting Charlie at the Carver Cafe for dinner." Bella stated, wringing her hands along the wheel.

"Not surprised." Tony muttered, referencing to their father's eating habits. The awkward silence in the truck was unimaginable, until Tony spoke up again. 

"You know it wouldn't kill you to call him 'dad'"

Isabella proceeded to do that odd head tilt, stutter thing that she did when she was caught off guard and was trying to come up with a reply.

"I know- It's just... It's just weird, I don't know."

"How is it weird, he's our father." Anthony scoffed, rolling his eyes and aiming his gaze at the passing trees.

"He's never been there for us, Tony!" Bella snapped, slamming her hands against the wheel. Anthony almost asked her to pull over so she didn't crash the truck, because knowing his sister, a car accident would be a kind of thing she'd pull.

"Dad has always been there for us, Isabella, always! He never once turned us away when we needed help, everytime I asked him to come down to Phoenix to visit me in the hospital, he came- despite how much he hates Phil!" Anthony yelled, defending his father. "You need to get your head out of your ass and realize he's the only one that's always there for us, no matter what."

"You're wrong." Bella denied shakily. "Mom-"

"The only reason you think of Renée as your number one is because she rejected every one of your requests to see Dad when you were young. She conditioned you to think Dad was the bad guy." Anthony got quieter and quieter with each word. "She walked out on him remember."

Now the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife, but it didn't last long before they pulled up into the parking lot of their destination.

Just as it had been that morning, Tony rushed to get out of the truck, nearly tripping on his bag. Not bothering to wait for Bella, Anthony gripped the handle of his oxygen tank and swung the attached straps over his shoulders so he wouldn't have to worry about it getting in the way, and disappeared behind the door of the cafe.

Bella watched from the driver's side of the truck as Tony stepped in and greeted their father with a heavily faked smile before sitting down next to the window with his back facing her.

As a spur of the moment decision, the brunette woman harshly kicked the black rubber of her truck's front wheel. 

— ONCE BELLA JOINED THEM AT THEIR TABLE, a pretty brown eyed waitress took their order and left the trio alone.

Bella continuously cast glances at Anthony, who was busying himself with sipping an iced tea.

It seemed like Charlie could sense the anger flowing between his two children, despite how hard they tried to mask it.

Obviously they had been trying to push it aside to try and enjoy a dinner out with him. He didn't quite know what their beef was, after not seeing either one in the same room since they were kids, he couldn't tell what they were thinking anymore. He could only hope it would get resolved and they could move on.

The waitress came back and Anthony took this time to glance at her nametag as she set down heaping plates of food in front of the Swan family. Cora. Her name was Cora.

Vaguely, Tony could remember sitting in this cafe as a child, when his legs were too short to reach the floor so they swung against the chair. He remembered when he'd kick his legs so much the chair would squeak and Charlie would have to place his son on his lap to try and keep the boy's excitement at bay.

Surprisingly, he foggily recognized Cora as the nice waitress lady that would give him extra chocolate milk at every visit.

"I just can't get over how grown up you both are." She said as she placed Tony's caesar salad in front of him, not taking another glance at the boy despite obvious reasons to.

A somewhat balding man approached from behind, a childlike smile on his face.

"Hey kids, you remember me?" Tony and Bella both stole a quick awkward glance to their father, not quite knowing who the man was, but the man continued to explain, "I played Santa one year."

Charlie looked slightly annoyed, despite this man being his friend.

"Yeah Waylon, Bella hasn't had a christmas here since she was four."

Waylon gave a hopeful look to Anthony.

"Sorry, I was only five so details are a bit blurry." Tony apologized.

"Bet I made an impression though, didn't I?" Waylon stated, smiling down at Charlie.

"You always do." Charlie agreed.

"Butt-crack Santa?" Cora joked, allowing room for some laughter

Anthony was preoccupied with passing his father some salt, so he missed exactly what Waylon replied with, though he did catch Cora shooing him away and promising to bring dessert in a moment.

The silence became a bit uncomfortable as soon as Cora stepped away, like they were performing a dance that no one knew the moves to.

— THE REST OF THE DAY WAS RELATIVELY UNEVENTFUL UNTIL NIGHTFALL. While Bella had promised to call their mother and chat a little, Anthony was meant to call Liv.

So sitting in his desk chair in the dark of his room, only one dim bedside lamp was lit and was casting yellowed shadows along every dark green wall, he listened to his phone make a faded dialing sound.

He had a CD player in the corner which was playing some soft indie music, but Bella's distressed voice from the next room carried quite a bit despite both bedroom doors being closed.

"Yeah I'm sure he's doing okay."

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Well I don't know, we're having a bit of an argument right now."

"Mom, no, don't call."

"Because he doesn't want to talk to you."

Tony wanted to roll his eyes, but he controlled himself. Of course he didn't want to talk to Renée, that was the first correct assumption Bella had made about him.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it.

"Hey handsome, what are ya wearing?" Liv answered the phone with her usual raspy voice.

Tony grinned, missing the girl even more so now than ever.

"A thong, how about you?" He muttered sarcastically.

"Honey is you fishing for an older woman?" Liv asked jokingly.

"You're twenty four." Tony deadpanned.

"And you're eighteen."

"Still legal."

"Damn straight." 

"Yeah, too bad I'm not." Tony laughed, standing from his chair and laying on his bed. Straight jokes were what he and Liv thrived off when they were hospitalized together.

"That was smooth." Liv chuckled. Tony could hear some shuffling.

"So they let you out?" Tony discerned.

"Hells yeah, I'm a free woman."

"It was a hospital, not a prison." Laughing, Tony looked up at his ceiling at all the movie posters. "So anyway, how was Danny last time you saw him?"

"He was exhausted from chemo but he's almost definitely gonna survive. Give it a few days to call him though, he needs to catch up on his sleep."

"Roger that." Tony nodded.

"Dork." Liv called, though her voice held humor behind it.

"Nerd."

"Oh! Did I tell you good ol' Gideon is back in action?" Liv revealed.

"You did not, you're back with the FBI?"

"Yep." Liv confirmed. There was a crashing sound on her side. She let out a deep sigh. "Hang on- Mom, what the hell?" She yelled.

There was some mild conversation that Anthony couldn't quite catch over the receiver. Liv groaned before returning to the phone.

"Sorry about that. God, I need a smoke."

"Lemme guess, you're back in with your parents and they took away your cigarettes?"

"You know me so well."

Tony took a moment to look at the cigarette that he'd left lying on his bedside table, next to the dog tags.

"Find your suitcase and check the front pocket." He stated.

"Why?" Liv asked warily.

"Just do it."

He could hear shuffling and a zipper being pulled.

"Wait." He heard Liv mutter quietly, obviously fumbling around with the pocket. "Since when was there a split in the lining."

"Hell if I know. I stole a pack of your smokes and hid them in there though. I figured you'd have to live with your parents again and knowing them, they confiscate everything." Tony didn't support smoking but he knew if she stopped, her weight would drop even more. She can't battle against two addictions at the same time, she's bound to lose one of them and Liv couldn't afford for her anorexia to get any worse.

"Wow you really do know me."

"Of course I do."

It was silent between them for a moment and Tony was almost sure it's because Liv was lighting a cigarette and opening a window.

"So have you met anyone? Made any friends that aren't complete assholes?" She asked.

For a moment, Tony thought of the Cullens, they'd been so nice to him on his first day and he couldn't be more thankful.

"I guess. I hung around with this family of five today. I think you'd get along well with Alice and Rosalie."

"That's good. I'm glad you've got some people. How are you and Bella holding up? I know she's been avoiding you since you went terminal. It must be so weird."

"It is, trust me." Tony sighed, playing with his bed sheet. "We had a fight earlier."

"What happened?" Liv asked, fully invested in the conversation.

"It started with Dad but she's been upset about something else." Tony sat up on his bed, picking up the cigarette and staring at it. "I don't know exactly why."

"Well has she said anything?"

"Not really. She did say a quip about me living until graduation."

"What exactly did she say?" Tony could practically see Liv leaning forward in her seat.

"I don't know, she was- she was mad and she said something like 'don't die until after senior year, I'd like to see my brother graduate'." Tony elaborated.

It was silent for a moment.

"Oh babe, she's like that because you're dying."

Anthony saw more clearly, the   
reason behind her anger. His eyes widened in realization.

"That's such bullshit." Tony whispered.

"Yeah, we've established that Bella is a bitch but at least now we know why." Liv muttered.

"It's not like I can control dying."

"Listen, I know you don't want to. But maybe you should just talk to her about it. Ask her why she feels that way, explain why it's happening. Maybe then she'd understand better." Liv stated calmly.

"Yeah, maybe." Anthony agreed, although reluctantly.

From the background of Liv's line, he could hear movement and thudding.

"Shit. She's coming upstairs."

"Act fast." Tony encouraged. He could tell Liv was trying to hide her pack of cigarettes whilst closing her bedroom window.

"There isn't enough time." Liv whined. "Damnit."

Tony listened as she moved toward her bedroom door, she creak of old wood giving it away as she opened it. 

"Hey Dad! Moms cheating on you with Tom from accounting!" Liv yelled. Tony then heard the slam of the bedroom door and rushing around, followed by shrieks and yells from downstairs.

"That should keep them occupied." Liv stated calmly.

"Hold up are we talking balding Tom, weird nosed Tom or ear piercing Tom?"

"Ear piercing Tom." Liv confirmed.

"He's worse than balding Tom." Tony stated, his face twisting in disgust.

"I know." She laughed. "Anyway, I should finish up this cig and do my sit ups for the night. I'll call you tomorrow or something though."

"Alright Liv. Don't work yourself too hard. I love you, Nerd."

"Love you too, Dork." And with that the call was terminated, but for a moment Tony lingered with the phone up to his ear.

The simple reason?

He couldn't remember the last time him and his own family exchanged 'I love you's.


	7. SIX

CHAPTER SIX  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. i love you, isabella !

— ONCE ANTHONY HAD ENDED HIS PHONE CALL AND ALLOWED THE DEVICE TO FALL ONTO HIS BEDSHEETS, he listened for Bella's voice in the other room. After a moment of not hearing anything other than her radio blaring slightly, Tony deduced that she had hung up on their wild mother.

Heaving himself up off his bed, he stretched his arms into the air and debated whether or not he was actually going to talk to his younger sister, or if he should just lay back in bed and sulk or seethe in anger.

Deciding against the more depressing option, Anthony grabbed the handle of his humming oxygen tank and tugged it out the room with him. 

The rubber wheels on the hardwood floor would have probably alerted Bella to his presence, if she wasn't already passed out on her bed when he opened the door.

Stepping into her room and manoeuvring around the wooden framed doorway, he glanced around the room that he hadn't seen in years. It was as if nothing had changed, despite the bedsheets and the computer in the corner.

There were drawings and pictures and little souvenirs stuck to the walls. Looking at all of them, he smiled a genuine, happy smile. He saw a child's drawing of a wonky dog stuck to the wall with frayed masking tape.

He recognized it as the one Anthony had drawn for her when he was seven.

When Anthony was young, he wanted to be an artist. He wasn't that bad either and despite an armada of people that told him being an artist wasn't a stable job, his sister never once doubted his ability.

Sometimes, for practice, they'd get out Monopoly money and little Bella would pretend to be an interested buyer while Anthony showed off all his rather abstract paintings and slightly off pencil sketches. Needless to say by the end of the day, Anthony was rich in fake money and Bella was creating a wall of art pieces in her room.

Simpler times, Anthony thought as he ran his fingers along the $500 bill of Monopoly money that was attached to the wall with a thumb tack next to a slightly better drawing of a butterfly.

Turning around to see Bella, still sprawled out on her sheets with the blankets bunched up at her feet and binders of homework laying next to her.

Anthony huffed slightly and sluggishly grabbed the binders and pencils off her bed, trying his best to set them on her desk despite his tubing holding him back.

Once Tony was done he sat down next to his sister, facing her.

For a moment, Tony's mind wandered between memories of him coming into his sister's room as a kid to sooth her nightmares as he moved the hair out of Bella's face.

He used to climb up onto the bed and hug Bella close. Even as a child he was trying to protect her from her demons.

How did it get to this? He thought. How did he get to this moment where Bella hated him for his illness.

His illness.

That's what it was.

This constant demon in his chest that screamed every time he breathed. It was cancer that ruined the relationship with his sister.

He wished it hadn't.

He wished that, while he could protect Bella from her demons, that he also had the strength to protect her from his own.

Snapping out of it, Tony saw the time on Bella's alarm. Realizing it was late and he had school in the morning, he decided to follow Isabella's lead and go to bed.

Rising from the mattress, Anthony grabbed the blankets and pulled them over his sister's sleeping form.

Sweeping her thick brown hair away from her face yet again, Tony leaned down and pressed his lips to Bella's forehead.

Hovering for a moment, Tony closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet and almost non existent, "I love you, Isabella."

That was the last of his visit as he rose, set Bella's alarm, and picked up his oxygen tank.

As he closed the door of her room, he heard a groggy voice.

"Tony?"

Anthony stopped for a moment.

"I love you too." 

Then, Bella was fast asleep before she could see Anthony's gentle smile. 

— NOTHING OBVIOUS HAD CHANGED IN THE MORNING. Charlie left early, as predicted of a town chief of police. Bella and Tony ate breakfast in silence for the most part.

Though for the first time in years, it wasn't uncomfortable.

Tony got up and put their dishes into the sink while Bella grabbed her keys and that was that until they got into the truck.

"So you got along quite well with the Cullens yesterday." Bella stated over the roaring of the engine.

Anthony was surprised, not quite expecting Bella to start up a conversation.

"Yeah they're a good group." Tony replied.

There was a short pause in conversation as Bella figured out what to say.

"Just out of curiosity, did any of them say anything about me?"

Tony furrowed his brows and a crease formed on his forehead.

"No? Why would they?" 

Bella sighed, "It's just, I don't think that Edward guy likes me very much."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, somewhat liking that they were finally having a real conversation, but not necessarily thrilled that it was about the Cullens.

"We have biology together. We sit next to each other and- I don't- I don't know maybe I'm just really paranoid but it seemed like he was glaring at me." Bella stressed as they pulled into the parking lot rather early. Something that Bella had insisted on as apparently, a lot of students showed up early so they could mess around or meet up with their friends before class. Plus, it wasn't like there was a whole lot to do at home.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. During lunch he was really nice. Maybe something happened between periods and he took it out on you." Tony, never the voice of reason, spoke.

"Yeah. Maybe." Bella stated as she cut the engine. She was kind of hoping Anthony would like her friends, but when that went down hill she began hoping her brother's new friends would like her. With Edward glaring at her for an entire class, she wasn't so sure now.

Getting out of the truck with a bit of struggle once again, Tony scanned the area for the Cullen's vehicles, wanting to find Alice before class.

He'd meant to ask for some contact information yesterday so that maybe they could hang out after school or over the weekend, but he'd forgotten because not only was he with Alice at the end of the day, he was also with Jasper.

He really wanted to get to know Jasper. 

At the same time though, Tony had no idea if Jasper was even into guys and to be honest, he'd rather save himself the embarrassment.

Realizing that the Cullens were nowhere to be seen, Tony walked to the front of the truck where Bella was standing with some homework she'd pulled out of her bag.

Isabella was surprised when Tony came up next to her and leaned against the orange-red hood, but she didn't question it. Even when Anthony dropped his big brown jacket over her shoulders.

"Here," he stated. "It's cold out."

"Why don't you wear it then?" Bella unintentionally sassed.

"Because I'm not cold." As he said this, he noticed Emmett standing on the back of his Jeep Rubicon, and if Anthony squinted he could see the mess of blond hair that was Jasper in the front seat. Next to the Jeep was Rosalie's cherry Mercedes convertible, with Alice Cullen in the passenger seat.

Anthony watched as Alice hopped out of the car and scanned the parking lot, locking eyes with him and waving excitedly.

Turning to his sister, Tony nodded in farewell then power walked across the lot to greet Alice, who welcomed him with a hug.

It seemed like Alice really enjoyed hugging.

Not that Tony was complaining, he quite enjoyed Alice's hugs.

"Hey Alice." He chucked into the girl's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down to her level. Tony could feel the cold of her skin along the back of his neck and he sighed contently as it cooled down his seemingly always warm skin. Jasper, from a few feet away, could feel the happiness radiating off the two and couldn't help but smile at their affection.

Alice had been telling him about visions she kept having, each one about Anthony and her hanging out or him and Jasper falling in love.

It was so odd to hear about it from Alice, but she was happy and oh so thrilled to become friends with the newcomer.

However, Jasper saw how little life Anthony had in him, and he barely knew the Swan boy. He wouldn't ask anyone to become like him, and he wasn't even sure if he should, but with Anthony's illness it wasn't sure how long their predicted love would last.

"All night I was wanting to text you about making plans this weekend, but I totally forgot to exchange numbers!" Alice stated as she pulled away.

Tony chuckled lightly, "Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing."

Alice beamed at this and pulled out her phone, opening her contacts and sliding it into Anthony's hand. He put in his number and typed out a quick message to himself, feeling the vibration in his sweater pocket.

"So you said something about this weekend?" Tony asked as he handed Alice back her phone. They began walking towards the school with Jasper falling in step beside Anthony.

"Yes!" Alice exclaimed, "I was wondering if you'd like to go to Port Angeles with me this weekend?"

"That's an hours drive away." Anthony reminded. Alice pouted slightly, thinking maybe Anthony was gonna back out because of the long drive. 

Instead, Anthony wrapped his unoccupied arm around her shoulder and spoke again, "But it's definitely better than the stores here in Forks." 

Alice grinned again and squealed excitedly. Anthony looked down at the pixie like girl in admiration, wondering how one person could have so much balled up energy.

"I assume we'll be shopping?" Tony stated.

Alice faltered for a moment, "If that's okay with you?"

Anthony laughed. Despite hating gay stereotypes, he was guilty of a few himself and one of them was shopping. Specifically for clothes. Living in Arizona with a mother like Renée, how could he not.

He couldn't deny it, he loved shopping.

"Don't worry, Angel I'm a very typical shopping-loving gay." Tony whispered into her ear. He was proud of his sexuality, and he wouldn't hide it. Especially from Alice, whom he was coming to like very much.

She turned to him, smiling.

"Firstly, Angel?" She questioned while giggling quietly, to which Anthony shrugged. "Secondly, why did you whisper that?" She matched his whispering tone.

Anthony glanced at Jasper, who was preoccupying himself by playing with his coat's zipper and pretending like he wasn't listening in on their conversation.

"Because your brother is illegally attractive and I really don't wanna ruin anything." Tony muttered back. "I just met him yesterday, I don't wanna scare him off by pulling the 'I'm gay' card."

Alice looked up at him as they walked past the art room sign and stopped at the steps.

"I don't think you have to worry about scaring him off." She smiled. 

They both addressed Jasper, who was beginning to realize he'd followed them to their art class accidentally.

"Jasper?" Alice pulled him out of his trance like state once and for all.

"Have a great class, Alice." He nodded in the girl's direction. "And I'll see you in history." He told Anthony as he took a few steps away.

Pulling away from Anthony's arm, Alice spun on her heel and grabbed his hand, walking backwards on the steps. Anthony kept an eye on where her feet were planted just in case she nearly fell and he needed to catch her.

They got into the classroom with little to no difficulty, and immediately found their way to their seats.

Like clockwork, they went through the exact same routine as yesterday. Pulling out their materials before turning to each other and talking, completely ignoring when the teacher came in.


	8. SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. shopping spree !

— AFTER A COUPLE DAYS WENT BY, Anthony was beginning to see why Bella was so worried about Edward.

Tony had been sitting with the Cullens every afternoon at lunch and was loving the comfort the family provided. Most of the time he'd have one arm wrapped around Alice and be leaned back against Jasper, who didn't seem to mind the extra weight. 

But in the corner of his mind he could always feel Isabella's stares, and he was well aware why.

Edward hadn't been seen at school since Bella voiced her concerns about him to Tony.

Tony never asked, specifically, where the boy was because frankly he could care less. So he took the answer of 'he's out of town, dealing with some personal stuff' with a grain of salt. Eventually he chalked it up to Bella's somewhat obsessive paranoia and continued on his way.

Now, the first week of the Swan's first semester at Forks high school has passed and it's Saturday, January 22nd and Anthony sits on the front steps of his childhood home in wait. His phone buzzed in his hand.

Alice  
Hey, I swear I'll be there soon I had to borrow Emmett's car

Tony  
No worries hun, is Emmett okay with us using his jeep?

Alice  
He will be, ill be there in about 10-15 minutes

Anthony decided that the message didn't need a response so he simply turned off his phone and shoved it into the pocket of his jacket, adjusting the red umbrella in his right hand.

Forks, as predicted, was experiencing some light rainfall and was expected to continue when Alice and Anthony got to Port Angeles. He wasn't gonna let that stop him from enjoying a day out with his potential best friend.

Suddenly Anthony let out a hideous barking cough, his oversized sleeve covering the hand that fled to his mouth. 

The air was cold and Tony was sure that if it wasn't raining, his coughing fit would have appeared before him in the form of mist.

His heaving chest and short breaths were what caught the attention of Bella as she stepped outside.

"Oh my god, Tony! Tony, are you- are you okay?" Isabella sat down left of him on the dampened steps with lightning speed, a hand on his back.

Tony waved her off quietly, still struggling to catch his breath. 

"I'm fine," he croaked. "It's fine Bella, I'm used to it."

Anthony took a large gasp and cleared his throat with a sigh while Bella scoffed.

"Well I'm not." She stated. The silence that followed was almost deafening, as if the sound of the rain hitting pavement had been amped up to a hundred.

"What are you doing out here." Anthony's voice sounded accusatory and tired, as if he was absolutely done dealing with his sister. Which to be entirely honest, that was the forefront thought in his head.

Isabella sighed, moving her wet hair from her face. Tony noticed that she was still in her pj pants and tank top, with an old zip up sweater.

"Just- I don't know." She bit her lip and struggled to find her words. Seemingly giving up, she slapped a hand on her knee and went to stand up. "Y'know what? Just forget it."

Her movements were stopped by his fingers slipping out of the jacket sleeve and wrapping around her wrist.

"Bella, we need to talk." Anthony wheezed out as sincerely as possible. Isabella's dark brown eyes stared into his for a few moments but she tore them away at the sound of a horn.

"No. Go and- go and have fun." Bella nodded, wrenching her wrist away and making eye contact with the one and only Alice Cullen behind the wheel of Emmett's silver Rubicon.

"Isabella," Anthony started as he stood from the steps.

"Forget it." The young woman snapped as she ripped open the front door of the Swan residence and slammed it in his face.

Anthony let out a deep sigh before turning and shuffling to the passenger side of the Jeep with his life support in his left hand, closing his umbrella when he deemed himself close enough.

Hopping into the vehicle, Alice greeted him with a bright smile and she waited for him to get situated before pulling out of the driveway.

— THE RIDE APPEARED TO BE ANYTHING BUT AWKWARD. Despite Isabella being a constant, Tony was having the time of his life with Alice. The radio played and she seemed to know every single lyric, which she put to good use with her beautiful wind chime voice. Anthony tried his best to join in but decided against it when he was sent into another coughing fit.

Eventually, Alice decided to just turn down the volume and talk to him. They asked each other questions and debated back and forth.

"Would you rather lay in a dirt pit for twenty-four hours, or ask my brother out?" Alice's teasing had gone into the extreme with this game.

"Depends, do I still get to eat, drink and go to the washroom in this pit?"

"Sure, why not." The Cullen laughed

"Then I'll take the dirt thank you very much." Tony confirmed. "My turn: would you rather be able to read minds or see the future?" He thought of his comic books, and the first powers he could remember.

Alice smirked slightly, "I think reading minds would be cool."

"Really? I could see you as the fortune teller type." Anthony chuckled, looking out the window and missing the shrug his friend delivered.

"What kind of power would you have?" Alice asked, pulling into a parking space next to their first boutique of the day.

Anthony pulled his oxygen tank over his shoulders, "uhhhh I don't know- maybe a mental tolerance? I have to tolerate a lot of bullshit with Bella and people at school."

The pixie-cut Cullen paused for a moment, musing over his words.

"Like self control? You control yourself from speaking out?" She thought.

Tony laughed, "I guess? Anyway, don't get out for a minute." He finished, grabbing his red umbrella and getting out of the car. The rain was still angrily pouring down so he opened his weather protection and rushed to the girl's side.

Once he got there, he opened her door and held the umbrella over her head as she stepped out.

"Why, thank you sir." Alice giggled.

Anthony took the opportunity to tip an invisible hat and puff an imaginary cigar.

"No problem t' all miss." He warped his voice into an odd accent which made Alice giggle more as they began walking to the store. Alice linked their arms together, a default position for the two, so she could be more under the shelter Tony's umbrella provided.

Anthony looked down at her with affection dancing in his eyes. Alice had told him one art class that they were destined to be the best of friends.

So far, she has yet to be wrong.

Once they got inside, Alice immediately fled to the clothes in her size almost as if she had the layout memorized. Anthony chuckled and followed after her.

She bit her lip and pulled out a light pink blouse, "What do you think?" She asked, holding it up to her small frame.

Anthony, now in one of his elements, the others being art and comic books, took a moment to assess the shirt before humming a 'no'

"Your skin is much too pale to wear such a light pink. I mean- we all know you look stunning in white but hun I just don't think pink is your colour." He stated.

Alice gave the blouse a once over before nodding in agreement, going back to ruffling through clothes on the rack.

Anthony joined her, looking through and finding any clothes he knew she'd rock. He'd came across a dark blue collar shirt that would go close to mid thigh but he added it to the ever growing pile of clothes Alice was going to try on.

In the end of it all, Alice had tried on half the woman's section while Anthony pulled out some accessories he figured she'd like.

He'd been very calm and collected this whole time, but on the inside he was worried he didn't know her well enough and was offering her clothes that she'd never wear.

Once Alice came out with piles of 'yes' in her arms, Tony helped her take it and a few scarfs and necklaces to the register. While Alice payed, Tony went to the men's section and looked around. Alice joined him after a moment and pulled out a white and a blue t-shirt, a few collared shirts and a brown leather jacket.

There didn't seem to be much else that screamed 'Anthony'. So he went to the change room with the things Alice picked out, all being in his size. A few minutes later he was putting his wallet back into his pants pocket and carrying two of his bags and and all three of Alice's bags while she held the umbrella and opened the back door of Emmett's Jeep.

This routine seemed to continue with every store accept for one, where a book caught Anthony's eye. It was a book on the Civil war by someone called 'Gaffney' and he picked it up and checked out with it. 

Eventually, they were back in the car and on their way home with tons of bags. They asked more questions and gossiped lightly about school.

"By the way, this has been one of the best shopping trips I've ever been on." Alice informed quickly.

Anthony's eyes widened and in disbelief he asked, "Really?"

"Yes! I haven't had any real friends to go shopping with and it's not like I can take one of my siblings." The woman spoke, pulling onto Tony's road.

Anthony had a bittersweet moment, knowing she'd had a good day with him but also realizing Alice had never experienced what it's like to have a friend.

Alice parked in the Swan's driveway, and before she could say anything, Tony interrupted her.

"Do you wanna come inside?" He asked.

Alice's eyes lit up as she looked at the house and then back at Tony.

"Would that be okay?" She bit her lip nervously.

"Of course it would, you could even stay over if that's okay with your foster parents." Anthony proposed and smiled when Alice looked like she was gonna explode in excitement.

"Really?" She asked, still a bit nervous.

"Alice, as of right now, I consider you one of my closest friends and I would be honoured to be the host of your first sleepover." Anthony assured.

Alice took a moment to take in the information, before nodding enthusiastically. Anthony cheered and hopped out of the Jeep, opening the back door and grabbing all of his bags with the help of Alice and then taking them inside.

Bella was nowhere to be seen so she was either in her room or out getting food with Charlie. Charlie had said something about it earlier but Tony waved him off and said he might not be home in time for getting food.

"That's the living room, that's the kitchen and dining room, and the bathroom-" Anthony nodded his head towards ever room, giving Alice a grand tour before leading her up the stairs to his room where he used his nose to turn on the light.

In there, they set down the bags and Tony set up all his blankets and pillows on the floor and plopped down next to Alice with his laptop set up in front of them. 

Alice had her phone in her hand and was texting Esme, letting her know in great excitement that she was having a sleepover with Anthony Swan.

Anthony gave Alice some sweatpants and an old sweater, both of which were too big for her, to change into. He knew how uncomfortable bras could be after Liv's constant complaining of the clasps digging into her back when she did push ups.

Once they were both comfortable, Tony switched out his oxygen tank for his at-home substitute and turned on some cheesy rom com flick that neither of them were paying attention to because he'd gotten out his old Uno cards and was teaching her how to play.

She caught on pretty quick, and they were playfully yelling back and forth about her cheating when Charlie Swan popped his head in the door.

"Hi Chief Swan!" Alice greeted, still giggling.

"Hey Dad." Anthony followed.

Charlie had a confused look on his face.

"Alice is gonna stay over tonight, I thought that'd be okay." Tony stated, knowing Charlie wouldn't have a problem with it.

"Yeah, alright" Charlie dismissed, closing the door a few inches before opening it again. "Should you be having girls in your room?"

"Dad, I'm gay."

"Right, right." Charlie nodded and closed the door all the way.

Tony and Alice just laughed and turned back to their game.

"UNO!"

"Damn it Alice!"


	9. EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. a little less sun, a bit more rain !

— WHEN THE SUN SUPPOSEDLY ROSE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND RAIN BEGAN TO CEASE SLIGHTLY, Anthony found his eyes heavy with sleep after staying awake all night. Going to sit up, he found that he couldn't go very far when he saw the messy tufts of hair splayed on his sweater clad stomach.

Looking around the room, his laptop had been set on his bed and had long since powered off with lack of use. The uno cards were a mess around them after they threw them around in playfully mocking frustration. Anthony had a pile of pillows near his head like one big pillow, and Alice had grabbed at a few blankets and was cocooned onto Tony's side, falling asleep to the rise and fall of his chest.

Well, she wasn't asleep. But Anthony didn't know that.

Not wanting to wake the girl, Anthony simply leaned back into the cluster of pillows when his eye caught his old camera a foot away.

Grabbing it, he turned it on to see all the photos he and Alice took last night. Most of them goofy, but some of them were sweet pictures of them laughing at each other and trying to make an uno card tower. Or when Alice stole the camera and took sneak photos of Tony, or when Tony did the same to her.

"Good morning." Alice spoke shifting slightly to look at Tony.

Anthony put the camera on his bedside table and smiled down at her.

"'Morning." He stated before smirking. "You comfortable?"

Alice laughed and nuzzled gently into him a bit more.

"Surprisingly not bad." She confirmed.

"You've probably got a great view of my double chins so that's always a bonus." Tony chortled, knowing how absolutely attractive that was.

Alice hummed a laugh.

Anthony found himself ruffling her hair and then fixing it all over again, doing this a couple times before he spoke up again.

"It's been close to a week since we met each other." He muttered with a smile.

"Really?" Alice's eyes widened in surprise before she closed them again. "It feels like I've known you for years."

"The feeling is mutual." Tony laughed.

It was silent again, both of them could hear Charlie and Bella downstairs in the kitchen but neither of them wanted to get up yet.

"Thank you." Alice broke the silence.

Tony looked confused, "For what?"

Alice gestured around the room, "for my very first sleepover and for coming shopping with me, giving me actual advice. Thank you." She smiled.

"Your welcome." Anthony grinned. "And thank you."

It was Alice's turn to look confused, so Tony continued.

"Thank you for your company and... thank you for sleeping on my stomach. I know what you were doing."

Alice smiled shyly. 

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't have any breathing problems during the night-" She began when Tony cut her off.

"So you placed your head just low enough so it wouldn't effect my lungs and just high enough that you could feel each breath. Thank you." Anthony had known exactly what she was trying to do. Renée used to do it when he was younger and even Liv had done it after a particularly hard hitting treatment. It took him a week to get her out of his bed and back into her own.

Him and Alice had barely known each other for a week. Yet this was the closest he's ever felt to someone.

Alice was so light and positive and kind. Her voice was like honey, her laugh like a song. Anthony found himself unable to be sardonic around her, because if he showed off a cloudy day Alice was sure to find the silver lining anyway.

Alice sat up and stretched for a moment, Tony following her lead before he stood up.

He quickly and expertly changed out his oxygen concentrator for his tank, pulling the straps over his shoulders.

"It's 9 o'clock." The Swan Boy stated, the green lights of his alarm clock glaring up at him.

"I should be getting home then." Alice said, looking down at the clothes she was wearing almost in remorse.

He caught the look on Alice's face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Your clothes are so comfy." She whined lightly, obviously not wanting to change but needing to leave all the same.

Tony chuckled, "Then keep them."

Alice looked up in surprise.

"I'm serious, I just got plenty more clothes and I hardly wore those ones anyway. It's only a sweater and a pair of joggers."

Alice still looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Really Alice, it's okay! You can wear them when you want a break from being stylish." He laughed, and finally Alice snapped out of it and flung her arms around his neck in a hug, muttering thank you's.

Once Alice pried herself away and grabbed her phone and the bag of her clothes, the two teens hopped down the stairs and Alice followed Tony into the kitchen.

"Hello again Chief Swan!" Greeted the Cullen girl. "And Bella, it's good to see you."

Charlie was sat at the dining table while Isabella was leaned up against the fridge, having a toned down glower on her face. Anthony took note of it.

"Hey kids." Charlie returned her gesture, "Anyone hungry? We picked up some Cap'n Crunch." He offered.

"Thank you sir, but I really should be getting home before Emmett realizes his Jeep is missing."

"Alice." Tony shook his head with a laugh.

"Esme knows I took it, she'd cover for me."

Tony simply nodded, and led  
Alice out the front door where the rain had stopped but the overcast was still ever present.

"Thanks again, Tony." Alice hugged him tight around the middle.

"No problem," Anthony returned the hug. "We should do this again sometime soon, I had a lot of fun."

Alice nodded excitedly with a small hum of agreement.

Then they broke apart, and Alice waved goodbye before getting in Emmett's Jeep and pulling out of the driveway.

Tony waited on the front step, just under the overhang so he wouldn't get wet, and watched the Jeep fade off down the road.

He was about to step inside when Charlie shuffled out the door in his cop uniform.

"Hey Dad." Anthony greeted again.

"Hey kid. Gotta get to work, I'll see you two later." Charlie stated in a hurry, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder.

Anthony waved Charlie goodbye before going back inside.

"Isabella!" He called out as well as he could.

"Yeah?" 

"Living room, now."

Setting his oxygen tank on the ground and grabbing a pillow off the couch, he plopped down and held the pillow to him in a hug. This was the position he was in when Bella came down the stairs.

"Tony if this is about yesterday, really, I'm fine." Bella ran a hand through her hair and stood in the doorway of the room, not wanting to cross over and get into the dreaded conversation that she knew they had to have.

"Bella, sit your ass down or so help me god I will set up legos around your room in discreet places, but just out there enough to make you step on them" Tony threatened.

Isabella lowered herself to the opposite side of the couch, also grabbing a pillow and mirroring her brother's actions.

"Okay, lets start simple," Tony began. "What the fuck is your problem?"

And there's Liv Marigold's influence on him, the angry swearing. 

"Tony-"

"No, really. Isabella, you've had an issue with me, we both know it. I'm sick and tired of having to guess your mood every morning!" Anthony threw his pillow back on the couch as he stood up. Grabbing his oxygen tank, he wheeled it behind him as he paced back in forth in front of Bella.

"I mean- honestly. With the way you act, it's like you're mad at me but you won't tell me what's wrong! Save us both the trouble of my assumptions okay!" Tony stopped pacing so abruptly that his tank made a sharp squeak.

This is when he looked at Bella.

And he didn't like what he saw.

She was staring down at his oxygen tank, the hum was low and unnoticeable, but the tears in her eyes were.

Tony's face changed in an instant. He sat down next to her in defeat.

"Shit, Bells, I'm sorry." He put two fingers to the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the stress he felt building up there. "I just... Liv said you might be acting like this because I'm dying." Bella inhaled sharply. "Is that true?"

There was a pregnant pause before he saw her nod. She'd long since given up trying to keep the tears in.

"Why?" He asked. "Why are you so... this?" He gestured to he with his hands.

"I just-" Bella hesitated, bringing her sleeve up to swipe at her face. "I'm just angry that you've given up, okay?"

"That I've given up? You do realize I don't have a choice, right?" Tony snapped. He then sighed heavily, trying to calm himself down enough to have this conversation. He knew it needed to be had.

He thought about Alice. How wonderful she was, thinking of him constantly. How everything had just been peachy a near 20 minutes ago when he was the happiest he'd been in a while.

He thought about Emmett and Rosalie, his playful, flirty new friends and even Edward, he already knew their friendships would last a lifetime or longer.

Then he thought about Jasper and how much easier this conversation would be if he was here. Anthony couldn't explain it, but it was like Jasper had a handle on his emotions and could calm him down with one look.

Finally he thought about Bella. Anthony knew what cancer had done to him. It crushed his many hopes and the dream of being an accomplished artist. It destroyed his body until he could no longer breathe without having to be hopped up on drugs and having a tube in his nose.

It hurt him.

Cancer had hurt him.

But he never really stopped to think about how it would hurt his sister. His baby sister.

Bella thought the world of Anthony. He was her personal superhero with an old wrap around blanket as a cape. He protected her from the things she couldn't protect herself from and there wasn't a person she could trust more.

Now, he realized, her hero was dying. What kind of hope did that leave her?

"Bells, I'm sorry." Anthony sighed. "But I will die. There's no stopping it, and even if there was I don't know if I should try."

"Wha-why?" Isabella stuttered slightly in surprise.

"Because, there are no cures over the hill or around the bend. The only thing I'd possibly get is a way to last a bit longer. And no one with terminal cancer wants to last longer unless they're the most optimistic fuck on the planet."

It was true, the only thing scientists could achieve in the near future would be some way of slowing down the process of his body destroying itself. 

He didn't want any part in it.

Neither did anyone else with cancer. He knew that for a fact. He practically grew up in the hospital, which is the reason he was held back a year of school, but instead of meeting normal everyday people he met other people with cancer.

Everyone he talked to, they told him their regrets. An elderly woman with breast cancer, sat in her wheelchair and told him she regretted not dancing more with her husband. A man he met with leukaemia said he wished he'd cared more about his body, wished he'd moved around more and appreciated it for what it was before each bone became as brittle and fragile as glass.

There wasn't a single patient that told him what they were looking forward to when they were cured.

Accept for Daniel of course. But then, he was the optimist.

"Why don't- why don't you want to last longer?" Bella asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Anthony sighed, "Cancer is who I am now, Bells. My death is inevitable and I'm done hiding from it." He took a deep pause, feeling his voice waved slightly with the oncoming sentence.

"I just want the pain to stop."


	10. NINE

CHAPTER NINE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. loss of breath !

— BY THE TIME MONDAY ROLLED AROUND ANTHONY WAS ECSTATIC TO GET TO SCHOOL. Which is something he didn't find himself thinking very often. What would be the reason?

Why, the Cullens of course.

And, yet again, he desperately wanted to get away from his sister.

However, he was slapped by a sweaty and disgusting heat flash.

Running a fever, he'd felt extremely under the weather that Monday, so Charlie made him stay home and tried to call in to work sick to stay with him.

Anthony insisted Charlie just go to, knowing his father needed the pay check and that he'd much rather be there.

So Tony stayed in bed, texting Alice back and forth all day. He even got a selfie of the Cullen clan (minus Edward) as an afternoon greeting. The Swan Boy quickly saved the photo to his camera roll.

He watched out his window, with two fans pointed at him as sheets of rain covered the ground, the cold air solidifying it into ice.

He watched out his open bedroom door when Bella came home and rushed into her room.

He simply watched when Bella whisked past again, deciding to go grocery shopping. A likely excuse to use when you don't want to be in the house.

He watched when Emmett's Jeep pulled up in the driveway, popping out a cheery looking Alice with an amused Jasper trailing behind.

They'd brought him some of Esme's homemade soup. Once the motherly woman heard her kid's friend wasn't feeling well, she jumped on the opportunity to cook.

Alice had jumped on the opportunity to bring it to him and Jasper just jumped on the opportunity to see Tony again.

Tony really didn't want Jasper to see him in such a sickly state, but it was really nice to see him. Especially when the first thing Jasper did, was put a cold hand to the sick boy's forehead, which was a welcome relief.

He'd sat up, leaned against the headboard as Alice placed the container of soup on his bedside table then climbed over beside him, leaning against the wall. Jasper took up the computer chair and rolled it closer to the bed.

They chatted for ages. Well, Alice chatted while Tony and Jasper smiled and nodded along or pitched in here and there.

Then they left, and Anthony finished off the soup before falling asleep.

Surprisingly, he slept without any issues and he'd sweat out the fever by morning. Heat flashes happened often with him but they always just came and went, weakening his systems and making him green and then leaving the next day.

Sometimes he wishes it'd last longer, just so it didn't seem like he called in sick for the hell of it.

Then other times, he's leaning over the toilet thinking, maybe not.

Nevertheless, Tuesday was beginning to look nice.

He woke up, did a regular morning routine and grabbed the container Alice and Jasper had used to bring the soup to him. He'd washed it and stuffed it into his bag to bring back to the Cullens. Then, he sat on the front step to wait for Charlie.

Charlie had decided, since ice was beginning to show up outside, that he should change the truck's tires and put on some winter ones for his kids.

As Charlie finally pulled into the driveway, Isabella opened the front door and walked down the steps.

Anthony watched as his younger sister slipped on a sheet of ice at the bottom of the steps, being her regular clumsy self.

Where Tony kept sitting on the steps in boredom, Charlie raced to get out of the truck.

"You alright?" Their father reached down to tug Isabella up by the arm.

"Yeah, I'm good." Bella waved him off. "Ice really doesn't help the uncoordinated." She chuckled dryly, brushing some hair out of her face with her huge knitted mitts.

She was used to warmer weather, so she was bundled up as much as possible. Tony only wore jeans, a T shirt and an unbuttoned button up. He preferred the cold.

Charlie nodded as Anthony stood.

"Yeah. That's why I had some new tires put on the truck." He stated, "old ones were getting pretty bald."

He looked up as Anthony came up next to him.

"Well, I'll probably be late for dinner. I gotta head down to Mason County, a security guard at Grisham Mill got attacked by some kind of animal." Charlie finished, approaching his police cruiser.

"An animal?" Bella asked.

"You're not in Phoenix anymore, Bells." Charlie stated. Anthony snickered quietly at his father. "Anyway, figured I'd give a hand."

"Be careful." The brunette woman called.

"Always am."

"Don't work yourself too hard, Dad." Tony smiled. Charlie nodded with a slight frown.

"You too, kid. Take it easy today okay?"

"Yeah, Dad."

After that, all Swans hopped into their respective vehicles.

Sometimes Tony hated that he had to share a car ride with Bella every weekday, but they made it to school without another argument which was a bonus.

He met up with Alice and Jasper, like every morning, handing them their container which they put in the Jeep. Tony also nodded to Emmett and Rosalie as they passed him and, to his surprise, Edward got out of his shiny metallic Volvo.

"Hey man, where you been?" Tony greeted as the Bronze haired boy approached the three.

Edward smiled awkwardly, "Just some family stuff."

Anthony nodded knowingly, understanding that being a foster kid must have a few family issues.

They spoke for a few more minutes before Edward bid them goodbye, saying he'd see them at lunch.

Alice had latched onto Tony's arm. In the week since he met her, Tony knew she was a very affectionate person and didn't mind it at all. After yesterday, he'd hug any Cullen just for the welcomed chilly feeling.

— LUNCH WAS AS FUN AS ALWAYS. Rosalie, Emmett and Anthony flirted back and forth for the sole reason that it was incredibly amusing to them.

Jasper sat in his seat quietly, observing his family and trying to ignore the fact that he was in a room with a hundred some-odd people, all with incredibly perverse or depressed feelings.

It was so difficult to discern what were his emotions, and what were others.

Then he felt a weight against his shoulder and when he looked down there was Anthony in all his glory, trying to stop his tearful laughter at Emmett's terrible pick up line.

"Okay, okay I've got one," Tony calmed himself down enough to speak and sat forward, still giggling slightly. "Is your name Ariel? Because I think we mermaid for each other."

Even Rosalie and Edward chuckled heavily at that one.

Jasper focused on Anthony and his feeling of happiness and content.

Then, the blond forgot about everyone else in the cafeteria.

— AFTER BIOLOGY, ANTHONY AND JASPER DECIDED TO HANG OUT IN THE LIBRARY FOR THEIR FINAL PERIOD. Since neither of them had a phys ed class, they figured they might as well wait out the period together.

"I still can't believe you put in the effort to win that stupid thing." Tony shook his head in disbelief with a small laugh,

Jasper held up the gold coloured onion that he'd gotten in their biology class. Tony was his partner, and tried to convince him to just forget about it because he doubted either of them wanted the prize.

Yet, here Jasper was, carrying an onion in his left hand.

"Aw dude look at the that." Tony was looking sadly at a shelf of comic books.

"Dude?"

"Shut up, its a reflex."

"Okay I'll bite, what's wrong? It's just some books?" Jasper asked, glancing at the boy's face and then at the shelf.

"They only have like- 2 Batman comics. This library is a disgrace." Anthony rolled his eyes before approaching the shelf, Jasper following after him.

"Oh nope- wait." Tony sat down in front of the shelf, looking through the comics. "They have three Batman's but they also have a Spider-Man so I'll let it slide."

"You like Spider-Man?" 

"Uh, do you like breathing?"

Jasper chuckled at that as if it was some inside joke, nodding slightly.

"Here," Tony grabbed the Spider-Man comic out and found some arm chairs near the back of the library. Sitting down, Anthony gestured for Jasper to sit down next to him. Which he did, setting his bag and the onion on the ground next to them.

Then, Anthony held up the comic for him to see and began reading it.

Jasper wasn't entirely sure what was going on with Spider-Man half the time, but Anthony was so animated about it that it was a really enjoyable thing to witness, and to Jasper's own surprise he kept paying attention until the thing was finished.

Then Anthony spent a few moments explaining what happened in easier terms, finally looking at Jasper to gauge a reaction.

"It was good." Jasper nodded.

Tony looked slightly offended, "just good?" 

"Great." Jasper corrected.

"Good." The Swan boy smiled before looking at the clock on the wall. "Shit, this lasted longer than I thought. We'll have to pick this up another time."

Anthony rushed to put the comic back where he found it, then grabbed Jasper by the wrist to tug him along, going to find Alice.

At some point, Tony's fingers slid down Jasper's wrist to hold his hand, which is something Anthony didn't notice but Jasper certainly did.

"You're very quiet." Anthony pointed out as they approached the gym's doors, slowing down to a walk.

Jasper looked up in surprise, before replying.

"I just don't have anything to say."

"Everyone has something to say, you just have to be confident enough to speak up." Anthony dismissed, seeing Alice exit the gym and wave at the two.

Anthony went to wave back before realizing both of his hands were occupied, his right with his oxygen tank, and his left had firmly grasped Jasper's hand. Tony let go.

"Sorry." He looked away awkwardly.

"It's fine." Jasper smiled, kind of wishing he could grab Tony's hand again.

When Alice joined them with an umbrella over her head, greeting them both with a hug, they didn't say much as they made their way to the parking lot. Though Tony did ask how her gym class went.

"Same as always." She replied at they came upon Edward's silver Volvo. Edward joined them after a moment and talked with them, though he kept glancing at something across the lot.

When Anthony looked, he saw his sister leaned up against her truck looking though her bag with headphones in.

"Do you want this?" Jasper leaned in towards Tony, going to hand him the onion.

"You're the one that wanted to win it!"

"Doesn't mean I actually wanted it." Jasper laughed.

Anthony rolled his eyes lightheartedly and pushed the onion into him.

"You're in Mr Molina's class?" Edward glanced at them with an amused look on his eyes.

"Yeah," Alice smiled. "I sit right behind them."

They were well aware of that fact. Jasper and Tony could almost always feel Alice's stare on them.

"As if we didn't know." Anthony chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"I observe!"

"Sure you do."

Their laughing was cut short when a loud screech of wheels against asphalt, wheels against ice and the sound of metal on metal met their ears.

Looking up, they saw Tyler Crowley's Van pushed up against Bella's truck. People were moving wildly, calling an ambulance and Anthony felt his blood run cold.

"Oh my god, Bells."

As fast as he could, he tugged his oxygen tank with him and rushed toward the accident, pushing people out of his way, calling his sister's name.

He couldn't find her, there were too many people in the way. Though he could see Edward hop out from between the van and the truck and for a moment Tony wondered how he'd gotten there so fast.

Feeling the incoming panic attack, Tony was trying to get his breathing underway or he'd have a bunch of new unrelated problems on his hands.

"Bella!" He couldn't find her. "Bella!" There were too many people. "Bella!"

He could feel the oxygen tank stop working as he heaved as many breaths as possible, which was another mistake. His lungs were being overworked and he could feel his body shutting down little by little.

Cursing at himself, he kept moving.

"Bella!" Anthony called, his vision going blurry as an ambulance burst into the parking lot and the crowd began to disperse.

"Tony?" Isabella saw her brother, barely keeping himself standing, and rushed forward. Alice quickly joined them.

"Tony, you're gonna be fine okay? You'll be okay." Alice had one of his arms over her shoulder and was tugging him to the ambulance with Bella behind them, carrying his oxygen tank as if in a trance.

Alice's voice sounded far away as she tried to reassure him.

And that was the last thing he could remember before he blacked out.


	11. TEN

CHAPTER TEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. i like your face !

— ANTHONY SWAN FELT LIKE SHIT. Simple as that. His mind was pounding, like there was something knocking against his skull and shattering his teeth. He could hear his own heartbeat, which turned out to be the horrible sound rattling around his brain.

It was that, or the familiar beeping of a heart monitor.

Behind his eyelids, he could see a bright light trying to weave its way in.

Slowly coming around, the voices around him seemed to solidify a bit more, a reality shifting into his line of sight as he forced his eyes open.

"Miss, you're going to have to leave."

"But he's my friend!" Another voice chimed. "I rode in the ambulance with him, you can't drag me away now!"

"We're only accepting family visitors right now, miss."

Anthony looked over to see Alice standing at his left bedside and talking to a nurse. Realizing he had an oxygen mask on, he reached his hand forward and grasped the Cullen's fingers weakly.

Alice gasped, "Tony!" She grabbed his hand and leaned toward him, ignoring the nurse now.

Tony used his unoccupied hand to reach up and grab the oxygen mask.

"No, honey, you need that." Alice sweetly tried to stop him, but Anthony proceeded to move it away from his face.

"Don't worry ma'am," he addressed the nurse first with a husky voice and tired smile. "She's my emotional support human."

Anthony held the mask up to his face again to take a breath while the nurse just rolled her eyes and left behind a curtain.

When Anthony glanced around he realized his bed was covered completely by a curtain.

Removing his mask again, he looked up at Alice who had switched out her hands so she could use her right hand to run her fingers through Tony's hair and move it away from his sweat covered forehead.

"Where's Bella? Was she okay?" Tony asked in a rush before placing the mask back around his nose and mouth.

Alice smiled, "Yes, she's fine, hon. She's in the bed across from you getting checked out by another nurse."

Now that his hearing was a bit better, his mind being soothed by Alice's voice, he strained to hear frantic apologizing and mumbled 'it's fine's.

Anthony sighed and let his head sink into the pillows.

"Jasper would have come too, but he has problems with blood so he figured he shouldn't risk it." Alice spoke calmly, still raking her hand through the boy's hair.

"S'fine." Anthony's muffled voice was heard whispering through the mask.

It was silent between the two for a moment, Anthony's eyes heavily closing with exhaustion, enjoying the pleasant cold sensation Alice was offering against his brown locks.

"Bella! Are you okay? You and I are gonna have a talk. You alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Calm down." 

Charlie and Bella's voice fled through the curtain, but Anthony had partly fallen asleep and didn't acknowledge it, though he still listened to the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I tried to stop." Tyler Crowley's voice explained in a rushed panic.

"I know, it's okay."

"No, it sure as hell is not okay. Where's your brother?" Charlie asked.

Bella sighed, "Dad, it wasn't his fault." Still defending Tyler.

"You could have been killed." Charlie's stern voice said. "You understand that?"

"Yes, but I wasn't. So..."

"You can kiss your license goodbye." Charlie dismissed, obviously addressing Tyler again.

"I heard the Chief's children were here." Another, kind and calm male voice sounded.

"Dr. Cullen." Their father greeted.

"Charlie." The Cullen returned the favour. "I'll take this one, Jackie."

"Isabella," Dr. Cullen went to greet.

"Bella." She corrected. "Look, I'm fine. The van didn't even hit me, can we please check on Tony?"

"What do you mean, you haven't seen him?" Charlie stepped forward.

"They haven't let me stand up since I got here."

"Ah, Anthony Swan," Dr. Cullen's voice got closer to the curtain shielding Anthony from the rest of the hospital.

"Bella, you stay here." Charlie spoke as his voice got closer.

When Charlie stepped into the closed off area, behind the blond doctor, his voice caught in his throat when he saw his son. Anthony was a sick pale colour, with sweat covering his exposed neck and shoulders. He looked so small in such a large hospital bed.

"Anthony Swan suffered from a panic attack around the time of his sister's accident." The older Cullen read from the boy's charts, ignoring his foster daughter in the room, already knowing she was there. "With his lung cancer at such an advance, it wouldn't have taken long for him to feel faint."

"Carlisle," Alice's voice whispered as a warning, looking at Charlie's reaction. 

Carlisle cleared his throat, "His upper clothing was removed to allow access to his chest in case of AED resuscitation and considering overheating is a common symptom of his."

"I've got it." Alice interrupted, bringing the attention to her. "His shirt and button up, they're in my bag."

Charlie nodded at her in appreciation, knowing his son had an incredible friend such as Alice.

"With Anthony's past history as a cancer patient," Carlisle began, not knowing if he should finish his sentence. "He's lucky to be alive."

It was silent for a few moments as they let that information set in.

"My best suggestion is that he stays in the hospital. Anthony is most likely fatigued and after the strain his lungs went through it's possible he could have some problems sleeping while he recovers."

"Yeah, okay." Charlie nodded, his eyes still stuck on Anthony's small looking form.

— THE WEAKENED SWAN BOY SLEPT UNTIL NEXT AFTERNOON, finding out that Alice had stuck by his side the whole time. She'd asked Carlisle if she could stay with him instead of going to school and was waiting on Tony hand in foot while sending hourly updates to Jasper, who waited anxiously to hear if Tony would be okay and wishing he could visit.

Though at some point during the night, she'd left to fetch herself and Tony a change of clothes. Really, she went to the Swan residence and grabbed two pairs of Tony's clothes when Charlie let her in.

Waking up in a groggy state, Anthony saw Alice sitting in a chair to his left in one of his sweaters and pairs of sweatpants, reading a magazine.

Anthony moved the mask away from his face.

"Comfortable?" He asked mockingly.

Alice looked up and smiled gently.

"The clothes? Yes. The chair? Not so much." She laughed, setting the magazine off to the side. "Do you need anything?"

"Yes, actually." Tony spoke as Alice perked up. "Get over here and give me a damn hug, I'm overheating."

Alice chuckled, but did take notice of the sweat forming along the boy's chest.

"That's the strangest sentence."

"Yeah but you Cullens have some strange alien cooling abilities and they would be much welcomed right about now." Anthony moved over on the hospital bed so there was at least enough room for Alice to join him.

The pixie like woman laid back in the bed and situated Tony so his forehead was tucked into her neck, a perfect place to cool him down. Anthony was practically draped over her, trying to absorb the freezing temperature she provided.

Alice's phone buzzed in her pocket and she tugged it out, with her left hand.

Jasper  
how's he doing

It was Jasper, checking up on Tony yet again.

Alice  
He's awake now

Jasper  
Is he doing okay?

Alice  
He's fine, really tired though so he's a little bit loopy

"What's Jasper doing?" Tony glanced at the contact name of the text she received, continuing to move his oxygen mask between every sentence.

"He's at school," Alice informed before giggling. "He's worried about you."

"Tell him I think he's a doll." Anthony muttered tiredly. "No- wait that's super gay. Tell him he's handsome."

"Are you sure?" Alice chuckled.

"No, that's coming on too strong." Anthony said, still extremely tired despite sleeping half the day away. "Try uhhh, 'I like his face'."

Alice  
He said he likes your face

Jasper  
Tell him I like his face too

And Alice would have, if Tony hadn't already been asleep.

— WAKING UP AN HOUR LATER TO DR CULLEN AND HIS FATHER ENTERING THE ROOM, it was a convenient time for another check up as Tony was feeling much better.

Alice had let Tony fall asleep on her, not minding as she was actually quite comfortable. More comfortable than she was sitting on the wooden chair. Once Anthony had woken up, though, he let her go and she stood back while Carlisle looked him over and helped him change the mask out for his regular tank and tubing.

"So there have been no problems sleeping?" He asked as Tony sat up, the blanket pooling at his midsection and exposing his chest. Alice handed him the sweatshirt she grabbed for him and he removed his nasal prongs and tugged it over his head, replacing the prongs and tucking the tubing behind his ears.

"Not yet, but that's always a possibility with my condition." Tony answered as he leaned back again.

Carlisle winced slightly, but nodded.

"So it is. And there hasn't been any noticeable issues?" Carlisle glanced at his foster daughter, who shook her head slightly.

"Just that he's been really tired."

"Understandable." Dr. Cullen nodded. "Well, Anthony, I believe you'd much rather be at home right now."

"I've had Alice keeping me company." Tony grinned at the woman's who returned it, flashing her bright white teeth.

"Yes." Dr. Cullen smiled. "Nevertheless, I'm sure you'd like to be discharged. Your father just needs to sign some release forms. I suggest you take it easy for a while." The blond finished, nodding to Charlie.

"Right kid, let's get you home." Charlie picked up the tank off the floor and slung it over his shoulder.

Alice grabbed her bag with Tony's clothes from the day before and followed after them.

"Is it okay if I come with you Chief? I wouldn't have a ride until one of my siblings could come get me." Alice asked, knowing she didn't have a car and Carlisle would need his to get home, also not wanting to hang around the hospital for another hour or so.

"Of course you can, Alice" Charlie agreed easily, also knowing his son enjoyed Alice's company.

So Charlie signed the forms and together, him and Alice helped Tony to the back of the police cruiser waiting in the parking lot.

The ride was silent. Despite all the sleep Tony had caught up on, he was still relatively tired so he stayed quiet instead of trying to fill the awkward void.

Once they pulled up at the Swan residence, Alice and Tony made their way upstairs while Charlie laid down on the couch and fell asleep, not used to the stress of having a child in the hospital.

In Tony's room, the two collapsed on the messily made bed and played an innocent game of Never Have I Ever while waiting for Jasper, who insisted he'd be the one to pick up Alice and Emmett would just have to ride with Rosalie.

Jasper did arrive (before Bella, unsurprisingly) after a near hour of waiting, and Charlie let him in and directed him upstairs.

Muffled giggles and tired laughter could be heard behind the closed door when he knocked.

"C'mon in." Anthony's voice called out.

Jasper entered the room shyly, muttering a quick hello and glancing at his foster sister.

Breaking the awkward silence, Alice stood up.

"I'm gonna go get you something to eat before we go." Alice winked at Anthony, who smiled.

"My angel." He called out lovingly as she left the room.

Jasper grabbed the computer chair and rolled it over to the boy's bed, sitting down on it, being a bit more comfortable with the incoming conversation now that his foster sister wasn't in the room.

"So," Jasper smirked slightly. "You like my face?" He teased.

Anthony groaned lightly, "Shit. How much of that conversation did she tell you?" 

"There's more to tell?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh, no? Just a lot of gay shit, you know me." Anthony tried to laugh it off gracelessly before cringing.

"You're gay?" Jasper asked, despite already knowing full well what Anthony's sexuality was.

"Yes? Though yesterday with that whole holding hands thing-" Tony tried to explain, knowing all too well what a toxic masculinity infested and heteronormative society they lived in.

But Jasper cut him off, sliding his cold hand into Tony's warm one and lacing their fingers together.

"It's okay, I don't mind."

Then, the two were unable to keep from smiling, having a constant grin on both their faces.


	12. ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. notice anything different ?

— ISABELLA SWAN'S BEAT UP RUST BUCKET TRUCK PULLED INTO THE DRIVEWAY JUST AS JASPER AND ALICE PULLED OUT. The air was cold and quiet as the Swan girl's boot clad feet hit the pavement and approached the front door with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

For a moment, she looked up at the house, at all the memories that were held within those walls and reminiscing on all the memories they missed out on. She took a second to think of her brother, knowing he was in there somewhere. He was home. Safe. Alive.

Bella didn't bother to say anything to her father as she burst through the door. There was no need for it, he was passed out on the couch with the tv on.

Rushing up the stairs, she hesitated for a moment just outside her destination.

The familiar white painted door with green and gold accents stared her in the face, her fingertips barely grazing the handle.

All she needed was two seconds of courage to open that door, and that was what she did.

Anthony was sat up on his bed, finishing off the jelly sandwich Alice had made him. Lucky the pixie like woman remembered he was allergic to peanuts.

When the Swan woman entered the room, her brother looked up in surprise.

"Bella!" He exclaimed, setting his plate off to the side and jumping up to stand in front of her.

"Hey-" She barely got through before she was brought into a bone crushing hug.

"I never saw you after the accident." Anthony sighed heavily, rocking her back and forth.

"You cannot comprehend how worried I was about you." The boy whispered.

"Yeah, I kinda got that when you had a panic attack." Isabella melted into the hug.

Anthony chuckled, swaying back and forth with his sister still in his arms.

It was quiet for a minute.

"God, Bells I'm so sorry. The yelling, the arguing- I just- I'm just trying to be there for you while I can, I need you to understand that I'm not the bad guy-"

"I know." Bella interrupted. "I know, Tony and I never saw you as the bad guy." She pulled away from the hug, shaking her head.

"I do love you, okay?" Anthony gripped her arms gently, looking her in her eyes before moving his hands up to the sides of her head. "I just wish things would go back to the way it was." 

"It can." Bella assured.

"I wish we still hung out like when we were kids- I wish I was still your confidante."

"You are, Tony." Isabella smiled lightly, pressing her forehead against his. "You're my best friend."

They pulled away and sighed heavily.

"I actually need to talk to you, as you're my confidante." Bella chuckled. Tony grinned.

"Of course bubs, but I really gotta take a shower first, I smell like I ran a marathon." He took a whiff of his sweater as if to prove a point.

Isabella scrunched up her nose mockingly.

"I noticed."

Anthony let out an undignified sound.

"I'll be real quick and then we can spill all the hot gossip."

— TONY SWAN EXITED THE BATHROOM IN A PAIR OF SWEATPANTS, with a towel around his shoulders to catch the dripping water from his hair.

When he entered his room, dragging his oxygen tank behind him, Bella was sat on the bed with some vanilla ice cream.

"Save some for me." Anthony greeted, throwing his other clothes in the hamper and grabbing the towel around his shoulders, trying to get the water out of his hair.

"It's vanilla." Bella reminded.

"You're so boring." Tony rolled his eyes as he plopped down next to her.

"Hey man, don't diss the vanilla." She pointed her spoon at him.

"Do we have any caramel sauce? Chocolate, even?" Anthony grabbed the spoon from her and scooped up some for himself.

"Nadda."

"Fair enough," he finished swallowing and handed the spoon back. "So, what is there to gossip about? Your new friends? Have they been treating you good?" 

"Yeah they've been some good pals." Bella nodded, putting a scoop of ice cream in her mouth and handing the spoon back to Tony. "But uh... how has it been with the Cullens?"

Anthony paused in the middle of his bite, looking at his sister for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"They've been great," he finished swallowing and answered. "Yeah, they've been fantastic, why?"

"I just- have you noticed anything... I don't know. Different? About them?" Isabella paused for a moment, thinking.

"Different how?"

"Like- when Tyler's van almost hit me," As Bella began, Anthony inhaled deeply. "Edward saved me."

"Saved you?" Anthony's eyes widened slightly, still the look of confusion on his face. "He saved you?"

"Yeah, I have know idea how he did it. The van was coming right for me- and he just showed up out of nowhere and stoped it." The brunette explained.

"He s-... he stopped the van? How- how did he stop the van."

"He just-" Bella gestured ahead of her. "Pushed it away before it hit me."

Anthony grabbed the spoon back and took a bite of slightly melted ice cream.

"So- is this like a conspiracy theory thing, like are we gonna be on unsolved mysteries or whatever?" Anthony joked.

"Tony, I'm serious."

"Okay," Anthony nodded. "Then let's talk vans- how did he stop it?"

"He pushed it away."

"With his hand?"

Bella nodded in response.

"So like- did it hurt him at all or was it like unstoppable force meets immovable object." Anthony, despite wanting to think his sister was crazy, couldn't help but understand what she meant. Edward got across the parking lot way too fast to be a normal human, Tony saw him hop out from between the van and the truck so he knows Edward was there and his sister's story could check out.

"Immovable object, it didn't seem to affect him at all."

Anthony nodded slightly.

"Okay, and anything else?"

"Their eyes?"

Now that Anthony could think back, Alice's eyes had been getting progressively darker over the past few days. He remembered them as a golden brown colour, but lately they almost seemed black.

So Anthony simply nodded.

"Listen Bells, I don't really know what to tell you. Maybe you should ask Edward?"

"That's the thing, when I mentioned what happened he gave me the cold shoulder." Bella stated.

"That doesn't sound like Edward." Anthony frowned, grabbing the towel around his shoulders and whipping it into the hamper along with yesterday's clothes.

Isabella sighed heavily, looking down at the sheets of Tony's bed and playing with the spoon in her hand.

"But I believe you." 

"You do?" Bella looked up hopefully.

"Yeah, why not." The boy shrugged, standing up and grabbing a new sweatshirt. "I've noticed they're a little different but I can hardly judge. They've been the coolest friends." Anthony went through the normal routine of taking out the nasal prongs, pulling the sweat shirt over his head and then replacing the prongs.

Next to them, on the bedside table, Tony's phone vibrated with a message.

"I should just, do up some homework before school tomorrow." Bella gestured towards the door as she stood up.

"You sure you don't want to talk about anything else?" Anthony asked as he grabbed his phone and turned it on, briefly seeing the name 'Danny' show up on the screen.

"Yeah- though I've been meaning to ask how you've not been getting any homework."

Anthony chuckled, "The teachers feel guilty or some shit. It's stupid."

Bella nodded before retreating down the stairs to place the ice cream bowl in the sink.

Anthony turned back to the phone.

Danny  
Hey kiddo I heard what happened with your sister, are you doing okay?

Tony  
Yeah Danny E I'm all good, I've been wanting to text you but Liv said it'd be better if I waited for a while for you to recover.

The boy grabbed Danny's army tags off the bedside table and tossed them around his neck.

Danny  
Yeah kid, well guess who's back in the hospital

Anthony sighed a heavy, tired sigh and glanced at the unlit cigarette also sitting on the bedside table.

Tony  
I thought she was doing better

Danny  
Isn't that how it always is? She gets better and better for a while until she doesn't, she only gets worse.

Tony  
Did they tube her?

Danny  
Just like last time

Tony  
Damn it

Danny  
I was supposed to get discharged two days ago but I'm faking a cold so I can stay with Liv.

Tony  
Its probably for the best right now that she has someone.

Danny  
Yeah exactly, don't worry about us for now- just keep going to school, get good grades, become a damn artist

Tony  
Danny, ...

Danny  
I know kid, but it doesn't hurt to dream, right? Anyway, I've gotta go I'll talk to you soon okay? Goodnight from Phoenix.

Tony  
Goodnight from Forks, Danny.

With that, Tony shut off his phone and just stared at the ceiling of his room. His muscles were tense as he thought about his old friends, wanting desperately to relax he inhaled heavily.

It didn't quite work, and despite how tired he was he couldn't seem to fall asleep that night. His thoughts were plagued with Cullen family theories (all of which were comic book inspired) and the idea that Liv was back in the hospital.

— THE SWAN SIBLING'S MOTHER HAD BEEN MESSAGING AND CALLING TONY CONSTANTLY. Each call got declined and Anthony couldn't be bothered to read any of the texts.

In his eyes, Bella told their mother that he was fine. That should be enough to get Renée off his back.

Apparently, not so much.

On another note, Tony had been so tired recently that he could barely function enough to form coherent sentences. Yet he couldn't sleep. Whether it be his overloaded mind or fear that something would happen during the night like sleep apnea.

Because of course that would be his luck.

Whatever the case, he was moving around like a zombie on the day of their biology field trip.

"Why do we have to go to this thing." Tony complained, muffled by the permission slip he held in his lips as he hopped into the truck.

"Because it'll enrich our biology knowledge with hands on experience." Bells recited for the fourth time that morning.

Tony spit the paper onto his lap after he shut the door.

"That's bullshit." He moaned, not wanting to go on this, as he deepened it 'stupid' school trip.

"Wow that's almost as fascinating as the last 3 times you've said that." Isabella sasses as she pulled out of the driveway.

"Respect your elders missy."

"You're a year older than me." The brunette woman pointed out.

"I've yet to see your point?"

The younger one in the car just rolled her eyes mockingly.

When they pulled up in the parking lot, Anthony turned to his sister.

"Will you be okay if I sit with Alice and Jasper?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, have fun." Bella smiled.

When his shoes hit the pavement, he looked down to see the remnants of the previous accident, glass pieces of a car window. Ignoring them, he spotted Alice, Jasper and Edward a little ways away standing next to one of the busses.

"Hey Tony!" Alice waved him over. 

"Hey, Angel." Anthony smiled as he approached and was greeted with a hug. "Hey Jasper. Edward."

Glancing back at his sister for a moment, he saw her talking to Mike Newton. Confirming that she'd be fine, he turned back to the Cullens.

"Let's get on the bus shall we?" He stated, noticing Mr. Molina calling for them to pack it up and get moving.

Jasper nodded and stepped forward, waking next to Tony.

"Hey is it alright if I sat with Edward?" Alice asked as they got on the bus, obviously wanting to talk to the bronze haired boy.

Anthony glanced at Jasper, who nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine I'll just sit with Jasper." He stated as he collapsed in the window seat near the back of the bus, Alice doing the same across from him.

Tony situated his oxygen tank between his legs awkwardly and Jasper slid in next to him and sent him a hesitant shy smile, which the swan boy returned.

As the bus started moving, Tony got more comfortable and leaned up against the window.

It was quiet between the two boys, despite the chatter flying around between the other students. Anthony just tried to ignore them, hoping to maybe fall asleep for the ride.

But he felt something cold creeping up on his hand, which was situated in his lap.

Looking down, he saw back of Jasper's hand pressed against his, testing the waters.

Anthony smiled to himself, which didn't go unnoticed by Jasper, and linked their fingers together before sinking against Jasper, his head laying in the blond's shoulder.

Nothing was said, nothing had to be said and as a wave of calm washed over Anthony he found himself falling asleep much easier than he had in a while.


	13. TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. see them differently !

— THE TREMBLE OF THE BUS AS IT PULLED INTO ITS DESTINATION WAS WHAT WOKE ANTHONY FROM HIS SLEEP. The ride may not have been long, but he felt surprisingly better.

Especially when he realized Jasper refused to let go of his hand.

Now that he realized, Tony was glad Jasper had such cold skin. Otherwise he was sure his own hand would have become clammy and too gross to hold.

When his eyes finally opened, and his head lifted from the Hale boy's shoulder, he glanced around sluggishly. Rubbing his face with his free hand, he groaned and nuzzled back into Jasper's shoulder.

Lucky for Jasper, Tony was too out of it to realize Jasper hadn't been breathing the whole time.

"We're here." The southern boy pointed out, obviously to encourage Anthony's waking up.

"How observant of you." Tony dismissed, barely shifting as people began filing out off the bus.

Alice stood from her seat and glanced down at her best friend and her foster brother. Making eye contact with Jasper, she pointed silently to ask if he needed help to which Jasper shook his head and gestured for her to keep moving.

"We'll have to get off the bus." Jasper spoke again, looking down at Tony with his amber eyes.

"I'm tired though." He wined. Jasper couldn't help but chuckle.

"Look," The Hale began. "All you have to do is stand and walk, you don't even have to look at the plants."

"But its an environmental study." Anthony pointed out, still not moving.

"Yeah, and I doubt Mr Molina is going to be paying much attention to you." Jasper smirked.

Anthony sighed heavily before replying.

"Fine, but you're still my pillow." The boy stated, heaving himself up, grabbing his oxygen tank and shoulder bag.

He knew they didn't have to take bags on the trip but Anthony at least grabbed the smallest one he had and stuffed his medication and snacks in it.

Once their shoes hit the pavement Anthony immediately latched onto Jasper's arm, leaning his cheek against the material of his sweater. 

Alice joined them, but stayed quiet as they entered the greenhouse. Though once she saw the plants, she grew excited and pointed them out to the boys.

"Tony!" Alice exclaimed, tugging on his sleeve. "Tony, look at that one! It's so pretty."

Despite being very much out of it, Anthony forced his hazy eyes open to peek at the flower Alice had seen.

"Looks great, Angel." Tony smiled. "Take a look over there." He pointed at another flower, which Alice rushed over to admire.

Anthony pulled away from Jasper and dug into his shoulder bag, pulling out a camera. The same camera Alice and he had used the night she slept over.

"Hey Alice," he called, handing her the camera. "Go nuts."

Alice grinned and turned on the camera, turning away to take pictures.

Tony returned to his hold on Jasper, grasping the boys hand again and tugging his oxygen tank behind the two.

"Do you realize how comfortable you are?" The Swan boy asked.

Jasper chuckled and shook his head. 

"I'm afraid I don't." Jasper hummed.

"Well, for the record: you're incredibly comfortable." Anthony seemed a bit distracted as they turned into another isle of plants and flowers. He was turned to see his younger sister, who was standing and talking to Edward.

"What are you looking at?" Jasper glanced over as well.

"My sister... and your foster brother." The boy's voice sounded almost indecisive, like he was trying to make some sort of decision.

Jasper shook off the curiosity he felt coming off Anthony with a dry laugh.

"Are you one of those overprotective big brother characters?" Jasper asked.

"Well- yes, but in this case yes and no." Tony stated, seemingly absorbed in his thoughts.

The Hale boy's eyebrows knit together in bewilderment.

"You do realize how confusing that sentence was, right?" Jasper asked.

Anthony was smacked in the face by realization. The real reason he was staring at his sister and dear bronze haired Edward is because of the Swan's conspiracy that something with the Cullens just didn't seem right.

Being with Jasper, Anthony sort of forgot all about the theories he'd had the night before.

As he realized, he became more aware of how cold the Hale's hand really was. That couldn't be natural, could it? Maybe they just have poor circulation. But the whole family? It doesn't make sense, they're adopted.

"Are you alright?" 

A smooth, concerned southern accent pulled Anthony from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tony lied through his teeth and tore his hand away from Jasper's as if the freezing temperature had burned him.

Why had they been holding hands? Why are the Cullens so cold? How did Edward get to his sister so fast during the accident? How did he push the van away?

Anthony sighed and rubbed his sleeve against his face, as if trying to wipe the ideas away. He wished he didn't have them, and he wished Isabella hadn't instilled this kind of paranoia in him.

As if having a miniature crush on the seemingly straight, attractive, gentlemanly Hale wasn't enough to plague his thoughts.

They continued to walk side by side in silence. Though Jasper could feel the boy's inner turmoil and could practically guess what was causing it.

It made him nervous.

— AFTER A RATHER BORING TRIP THROUGH THE GREENHOUSE, the students of Mr Molina's biology class began to flee back to their bus seats.

Anthony was walking with Jasper and Alice, who was gushing over the pictures she'd taken. Tony tried to stay enthusiastic for the woman's sake but then he'd glance up and see the messy haired blond and it would screw up his emotions again.

As they approached their bus, Tony spotted Edward and Bella again standing just outside the doors and talking.

Alice stepped forward, seeing Bella's familiar face.

"Hi, um are you gonna be riding with us?" She asked politely, though it seemed like she'd interrupted something serious.

"No," Edward replied for her. Anthony was taken aback by the sheer rudeness in his voice. "our bus is full."

With that, he got the driver to open the bus doors and hopped on. Anthony, Alice and Jasper followed after but they all sent a sympathetic look to Isabella.

Once on the bus, Alice went to sit with Edward again when Anthony stopped her.

"Hey Alice," the woman turned at smiled at him. "Wanna sit with me for the ride back?" 

Alice glanced between Jasper and Tony, analyzing the two before nodding.

So Anthony slid into the window seat just like before, instead Alice and Jasper switched places.

While Tony wasn't looking, Alice turned to glare at her foster brother as if asking what he did. Jasper just shrugged innocently, his eyes shooting between Alice and the boy next to her.

On the way back to Forks high school, Anthony and Alice simply chatted back and forth.

"I've been meaning to talk to you again about the self control thing." Alice said, shuffling around in her seat to get more comfortable.

"What do you mean?" Anthony had pulled out a plastic container full of blueberries and was snacking on them between words. He'd offered Alice one just to be polite but she declined, which he figured she would.

"Well, you said if you had any power of natural ability it would be self control, but from what I've seen and heard you don't seem to have too much of that." She tried to word it in the best way she could, knowing Anthony had burst out in his first history lesson. She was just curious why he thought self control would be a natural ability of his.

"Yeah," Anthony agreed with a laugh. "It's just- when I was younger, I was pushed around for being gay y'know? I always just endured it because I never really saw the point of making them angrier or getting into fights. Then they found out I did ballet and it only got worse."

"You did ballet?" Alice smiled, imagining him dancing.

"Bella didn't want to do it alone so I signed up with her. I even wore a tutu for a week so she'd feel comfortable wearing her own." Anthony chuckled, remembering how awkward it was for the other girls in that class.

"Frilly pink?" Alice asked, a humorous twinkle in her eyes.

"Frilly pink." Tony confirmed. "But anyway- they called me names and used gay derogatory slangs so yeah, I guess I'd say I had to keep myself from throat punching them." He stated, throwing a few more blueberries in his mouth.

"But you don't seem that way now? What changed?" He knew what Alice was really asking.

What made you so angry? So angry that now, you'll snap back?

"I got cancer." Anthony stated, matter of factly. "After I got cancer I kind of- I just didn't care enough what people thought of me because I figured I'd be dead before it mattered." He shrugged and put the lid back on his container, shoving it into his bag.

"But- why be so ruthlessly angry at people who don't know any better? When your gonna-..." Alice paused, not wanting to continue.

Anthony groaned, very much used to that reaction.

"The word you're looking for is 'die'." He said as he stood from his seat, now back at the school and filing off the bus.

Once they were on the pavement, Alice turned back to him.

"Don't say it like that." She frowned.

"What? What do you mean 'don't say it like that'? What other way am I supposed to say it?" Anthony didn't want to lash out at Alice, but now she wasn't treating him how she usually did.

No, now she was treating him like a kid with terminal lung cancer, and that was the last thing he wanted her to see.

"I just- I don't like hearing you say you're gonna die."

Anthony spotted Bella standing by her truck, waiting for him to get in so they could head home.

"Well get used to the idea."

That was the last thing he said before he stalked off to the passenger side of the beat up truck, thinking he could only be heard by Alice. What he didn't know, was the blond boy that had been causing his heart so much strife had heard it too.

Once he jumped up into the vehicle, situating his tank between his feet along with his shoulder bag, he waited for Bella to get in and start the truck.

She did get in, but didn't start the metal contraption right away.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked.

"I'm fine."

It still didn't convince Isabella, who was staring at him slightly.

"Can we just get going?" His leg bounced as he looked out the window and saw a silver Volvo a few spaces away.

Bella hesitated for a moment, but nodded and started up the engine.

"Thanks."

It was quiet for a few seconds as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the not so busy street.

"Are you okay?" Anthony asked. "I saw how Edward was acting today, what did you say to him?"

"I'm fine- it's fine." 

Anthony scoffed out a laugh, "I used that exact same lie a few minutes ago- don't try me. At least tell me what you guys talked about."

"He said it was an adrenaline rush."

Anthony shook his head, "No way, hun. Adrenaline rush can explain speed and strength but it can't explain how it didn't hurt him to stop the van. He'd have to be in extreme pain after- do you know how much weight would have been thrown into his arm?"

Bella nodded.

"I know, but it's not like he'll tell me otherwise."

Anthony just sighed, wishing he knew what was going on with the Cullens.

The truck slowed to a stop and parked just outside a few stores.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"Just get your ass out of the car." Isabella stated as she, too hopped out.

Tony did as he was told, and looked around for a minute while he tugged out his oxygen tank.

Bella urged him to follow her and they walked themselves into a store a few feet away.

When they entered, Anthony realized it was a comic book store and looked at his sister in confusion.

"We need ideas for what the Cullens are and right now, my mind is fleeing to superpowers, extraterrestrial or supernatural."

So they began looking through comic books, taking down mental notes.

Bella confirmed her idea worked when she saw Tony getting quietly excited over an X-Men comic. Her real reason for coming there was so Anthony could get his mind off things, and she knew comic books would always do the trick.


	14. THIRTEEN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. remember the easier times ?

— WHEN THE SWAN SIBLINGS RETURNED HOME, Tony was feeling much farther away from a breakdown then he had an hour and a half before. Maybe it was the comic books, which could whisk him away from his problems with superpowers and fantasy villains. Or maybe it was his sister, who Tony was beginning to realize was much better company than he first intended.

Charlie Swan's police cruiser was in the driveway when they pulled in, and they spotted their father sitting at the kitchen table when they entered the house.

Bella dropped her bag off to the side.

"Your mom called again." Charlie stated as he folded his newspaper.

Anthony sighed heavily as he plopped down onto the chair across from his father, putting his shoulder bag on the back.

"Well, that's your fault." Bella informed, beginning to clear off the table. "You shouldn't have told her about the almost-accident and Tony's panic attack."

Anthony tried to keep himself from snorting, he really did, but it came out as more of a choked cough. A choked cough that caused him to wheeze for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. She always did know how to worry."

Anthony thought back to the fourty messages he'd received from his mother and the near fifty missed calls.

"That's a major understatement." Tony muttered so only he could hear.

"Y'know she seems different." Their dad stated. "She seems happy."

Tony felt his heart bend at his father's words. He knew Renée leaving had hurt him. Especially when she took Tony and Bella away from him too.

He missed out on years of his kid's lives because Renée was selfish.

"Phil seems like an alright guy." 

"Yeah, he is." Bella sighed, before walking away awkwardly.

Charlie looked a little disheartened, watching his daughter flee up the stairs.

"Phil's an asshole who'd rather play minor league baseball than raise his step kids. Renée is sporadic and paranoid. Sometimes it's about Bella, most of the time it's me..." Anthony stated, standing up and grabbing a glass from one of the overhead cabinets. "She didn't want to be around to watch me waste away in some hospital bed so she was all for sending us here." He filled the glass with water from the tap.

"I missed you." The boy paused, turning off the flow from the sink and leaning against it. "All the time, I missed you."

The silence was deafening, as Charlie knew his son was going to keep talking and didn't want to interrupt.

"She wouldn't ever let us see you. When holidays came around she always said you were too busy or didn't want to drive all that way, but I knew better. She never even called you, did she?" Anthony shook his head, remembering the ache Bella had to go through thinking her own father didn't want to see her. "Or did she tell you we didn't want you there."

"And she's always been prepared to let me die without saying goodbye to you." Tony downed his drink and placed the glass in the sink, the clink of dishes breaking the silence.

"Y'know I wonder if she was even going to invite you to the funeral." He laughed humourlessly with a wry smile to match, turned and leaning his back against the counter.

Charlie was looking down at his paper when Anthony turned. Though it was obvious he wasn't reading anything.

When Charlie didn't say anything, Anthony grabbed his bag off the chair and picked up his oxygen tank for easier transport up the stairs.

As his red white and blue Captain America socks creaked against the first wooden stair, Charlie's voice sounded behind him.

"I missed you too, kid. You and your sister both." He sighed as Tony paused.

"I still can't get over the fact that you had to come out to me over text, I wish I was there for it. I wish I coulda shown you that I supported you."

"You did, Dad." Anthony smiled. "You always have. Remember, when you visited me in the hospital that one time?" He reminded, turning back and sitting at the kitchen table. "You came in and hung out for the day. Liv really liked you, said you were one authentic American gentleman, and- and you really got along well with Danny. You both have a real dad gene." Anthony grinned, one of the first genuine smiles he'd shared with his father for a while. "And we ate Chinese takeout from the Blossom restaurant a block away, we watched jeopardy. Of course Liv knew every answer."

"I remember." Charlie laughed. "It was a great day wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." Anthony hummed. "And at the end of it all, when visiting hours were over, you hugged me as tight as you could without hurting me and then you gave me a small pride flag that we hung just outside the door."

"I would have gotten you something better-"

"No, dad." Tony interrupted. "It was one of the best things you could have given me." He assured. "I would still have it too, if that homophobic chick from room 13 hadn't torn it down and burned it."

"She burned it?" Charlie asked incredulously.

Anthony nodded.

"The nerve of some people, I just don't understand it." The chief stated.

"You and me both." Tony agreed.

Then, Anthony smiled again. "She got busted though- not for the flag thing. Apparently she was charged with insurance fraud and blackmailing a federal prosecutor." He chuckled, laying his hands on the table. "Liv and Danny were rather fond of that flag. It pays to have a private detective and previous law enforcement as best friends slash roommates."

"So you mean to say that-?" Charlie began, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"Liv figured out the insurance fraud, Danny got the dirt from his old lawyer buddies and together they got the chick arrested. They said destroying a pride flag should be a crime in itself but they'd have to settle for the next best thing."

"Those two really are something, huh." Charlie smiled, glad his son had found such supportive people in his life.

"Yeah, they really are." Anthony nodded in agreement.

"How are they?" The father asked, leaning against the back of his chair. 

Anthony sighed, "Well I'm sure Danny is glad to be alive." His hand flew into the collar of his shirt and tugged out the army tags around his neck. He'd gotten into the flow of taking them off while he slept and then putting them back on in the morning, tucking them under whatever he was wearing. Though when he couldn't sleep, he grabbed the chain from his nightstand and just held it against his chest hoping maybe the memories from that warm hospital room may make way for a greater dream.

"He's finally gotten through his Chemo and for now:" Anthony grinned and looked at the tags, running his thumb along his friend's name. "He's alive."

"He's always so optimistic, so sure that tomorrow is a better day. So enthusiastic all the time, but he's a realist which is also good. God, he really is a dad. You guys got along so well."

Charlie nodded along, standing from his chair and reaching up into a cupboard, grabbing a box of soda crackers.

"Liv is... she's Liv I guess." Tony shrugged as Charlie set the crackers on the table and sat back down. "She's only ever getting thinner, and we really do try and help her get better. Danny and I even took a course on therapy so that maybe we could be more helpful, but I think at the end of it all she can only help herself, y'know?" Tony grabbed a cracker and started munching on it.

"You're a good friend." Charlie assured. "You and Daniel have done more for her than you think. Just being there for her in such a confusing time is all the help you can offer."

"Maybe." Tony hummed. "I just wish I could do more."

Charlie sighed and grabbed a cracker, staring at it for a moment while he constructed his next sentence.

"You're eighteen." He said. "Eighteen years old and this is what you're worrying about."

"Dad-..." Anthony wanted to say something, he wanted to defend himself or maybe lash out again about his condition.

"You're eighteen years old. You're into comic books and drawing, and you're damn good at that last one. You wear superhero socks and I'm sure if you didn't care so much about clothing and appearance than you'd be wearing graphic t shirts too." Charlie chuckled.

"You're a kid. A kid who's suffered way too much. A kid that has to repeat a year of school because he was too busy with chemotherapy to go to lessons. You're worrying about your friend's funerals and how long you're going to last to see them. You spit at any person that treats you as a cancer patient and I never really knew why."

It was silent. Anthony's head remained bowed, looking down at the crackers between them.

"But now I do."

Tony looked up, into his father's eyes. The same eyes that Tony saw when he looked in the mirror. Though, he noticed, his father's eyes were different in a way he couldn't understand. It was a combination of exhaustion and pain. An inexplicable darkness.

"I get it now, but you have to realize; pushing people away and pissing people off will not make your death any less painful on the ones that truly love you." Charlie stated, his eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

It took a split second. Only a split second for Tony to realize he too was beginning to cry. He noticed as soon as he felt the drop of unfamiliar substance on the back of his hand, and when he looked down: a small droplet of water.

"I'm sorry." Anthony furiously wiped at his face but by now he was becoming a blubbering mess. "I just- I know what my future is and I don't want the people I love to care about me too much only to- to have me-." 

Charlie reached across the table and grabbed his son's wrist, bringing it away from his face.

"Kid, it's gonna take more than a few hard ass comments to make them stop caring. You've gotta understand that those that you love also happen to love you."

It was so easy. Just like that. Charlie always knew what to say to Anthony. Awkward may run in their blood but the father son relationship is something that couldn't quite be broken.

Charlie stood up and lifted his chair, moving it to sit next to Anthony's. As the chief sat back down, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders, Tony began to cry more.

Stop it. He told himself. Stop crying. He thought about what those kids at his old school would say if they saw him like this. People say things like 'kids can be cruel'. They had no idea.

You're stronger than this. The voice in his head whispered, echoing around his skull.

But he wasn't. He was eighteen years old. He was still a kid, in some people's eyes.

He shouldn't have to be strong.

If anything, he had always been strong enough. Enough to get him through treatment. Enough to get him through the halls at school. 

He was always only barely enough. He fought to stay at that same level of strength.

He deserved a break from enough.

Anthony turned and ducked his head into his father's chest. His shoulders were shaking with sobs as they wracked his body. Charlie just kept rubbing his sons back, adding the extra bit of comfort that they both needed. 

He wasn't the only one with tears running down his cheeks. Isabella was sitting at the top of the steps, listening to her brother's muffled whimpers. She desperately wanted to reach out and help him, try and ease some of his pain.

His cries were the only sound in the house.

Anthony's fingers grabbed at Charlie's flannel.

"Dad, I don't want to die." He choked on the last word like it was killing him just to say it. It was so unlike his usual calm and collected tone when saying that one word.


	15. FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. apologies, apologies !

— WHEN ANTHONY SWAN HAD FINALLY DECIDED ON GOING TO BED, the tears on his cheeks had dried, but that didn't stop him from looking like a train wreck.

When he looked in the mirror the next morning, he didn't like what he saw. Partially bloodshot eyes, dark rings surrounding them. His nose was red from attacking it with his sweater sleeve.

Maybe he looked more sick than usual, but that didn't mean he was staying home from school.

Normality. It's what he needed. Or at least it's what he thought he needed.

So, in a routinely order, Tony got dressed, hooked up his oxygen tank, washed his face then had breakfast with Bella.

They were both quiet, as per usual, but this time there was no because to the why. It was just, very simply, they had nothing to say but appreciated each other's company.

So he finished his bowl of Cap'n Crunch, put his dishes in the sink, then grabbed his and Isabella's coats.

— MAYBE THE MORNING AT THE SWAN RESIDENCE WAS EASY, but when Anthony and Bella pulled up in the beaten down red-orange vehicle, Tony quickly realized who he would have to face in his art class, and then history class after that.

"Hey Tony!" Bella called just as Anthony sighed and had started walking away.

"Yeah?"

"D'you maybe- I don't know," Isabella began, stumbling over her words. "You could sit with my friends and I today? At lunch?" She asked. "I promise they'll behave." The woman added quickly.

Anthony glanced around for a minute to see Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley leaned up against the wall of one of the school buildings along with Angela Weber and Eric Yorkie.

"Sure, might as well." Anthony agreed with a shrug.

"Okay! I'll see you later then?" 

"Yeah." Tony laughed. Then he stuck one hand in his pocket, the other one glued to the handle of his oxygen tank, and stalked off to his art class with a face in his mind and an apology on the tip of his tongue.

When he made it to art class, after lugging his life support up all those stairs, he saw Alice sitting at the back of the class preoccupied with a sketch she was working on.

Tony practically flew to his seat and pulled out all his art supplies. Despite the fact that he basically stopped drawing when his cancer became terminal, he still had all the materials.

For the entire period, the two worked in silence for the first time since they'd met. Though Tony sent the Cullen glance after glance.

Tapping his pencil against his paper, he looked up at the clock and saw that they'd still had thirteen minutes left. He decided to make the most of it.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, loud enough for Alice to hear but quiet enough that the eavesdropping students couldn't quite make it out.

Alice looked up from her art piece, which depicted a pretty painted ginger in a striped blue dress.

"What?" She asked to confirm it was him that spoke. Though she knew perfectly well it was Tony, she'd practically memorized his voice.

"I'm sorry." Tony stated firmly. "Yesterday, I shouldn't have unloaded on you like that. You deserve better."

Alice allowed a small smile to grace her face.

"It's okay, Tony."

"No, it isn't." Anthony shook his head. "You and your family are one of the only good things at this school, and I really care about you, Angel." He set down his pencil and turned in his chair to face her. "And I guess I thought if you saw me as a normal person I could trick myself into thinking the same thing. Once you started talking about my condition, I guess- I don't know- I think I got scared."

"Scared of what, Tony? You shouldn't have to be afraid." Alice furrowed her eyebrows and put a hand on Tony's upper arm.

"I got scared because I never want anyone to love me and lose me. I got scared because if you get too close, too attached, it's gonna hurt you in the long run, and I never want you to get hurt." Anthony sighed, placing his hand over hers.

"But Tony, seeing you like this? So bitter and angry, it's what's really heartbreaking-" Alice was cut off by Tony.

"Fun fact, Angel. Hearts can't break. They can bend and be crushed, but they can't break." Them the bell rang and Tony's rushed to put everything away.

Once he had all his materials situated in his bag, he slung it over his shoulder, grabbed his oxygen tank and wheeled it out the door.

"I don't see how that's a fun fact." She called after him.

— HISTORY CLASS HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY AWKWARD. Anthony has absolutely no idea how to say the things he wanted to say to Jasper. How does someone just come right out and say, 'look, my sister and I think you and your foster family have some weird witchy stuff going on and by the way, I'm super gay for you'. He couldn't. So instead Tony spent the period avoiding eye contact with everyone. Specifically Jasper. Though the Hale could, as always, feel Anthony's inner torment, and was both nervous and confused.

When the class was over, Tony practically bolted out of his seat and spent the free period just hanging out in the medical building after getting his oxygen tank refilled, not wanting to risk running into Jasper.

That period was over in a flash and once it was time for lunch, Anthony was actually somewhat hungry for a change, so he grabbed himself a tray with a peach fruit cup, a salad and a water bottle.

He spotted the Cullens at their usual table, and noticed a few of them staring at him as if waiting for him to come sit. His usual chair was even sitting where it normally was, now empty and unused.

"Tony!" The boy heard his sister's voice and spun around to find her. She was sitting at a table with all her friends.

He did agree to join them this time.

So he strolled on over, expertly balancing his tray on one hand and dragging his oxygen tank behind him with the other.

"Hey." Tony greeted, specifically to Bella but it was more so an open statement.

"Hey, so guys this is Anthony." Bella introduced, gesturing to him.

Anthony noticed the same group that he had seen earlier, adding on Tyler Crowley who still had a white gauze bandage covering up the stitches on his forehead.

The group was sort of quiet, like they didn't know what to say. Mike Newton looked like a fish, opening and closing his mouth trying to find a response.

Anthony's reputation seemed to spread to 'bitter and scary' and it only made this situation more unbearable.

"Hey, we've met. Angela Weber." The pretty brunette with slender glasses reached her hand forward to shake his. Anthony had to free up his right hand to return the gesture.

Angela actually seemed the most polite and respectful out of the bunch. Anthony could see them being good friends.

"You've met me too, I'm Jessica." 

Anthony knew him and Bella were on a good page right now. He couldn't ruin it by being a jerk to her friends, even though people like Jessica were the bane of his existence.

So he smiled and nodded. Then the boys of the group jumped up to introduce themselves, not wanting to seem like a whimp for being scared to talk to the sick kid.

Then, Anthony took his seat between Angela and Eric, making Eric nudge his chair way. It seemed as if the boys were avoiding Anthony like the plague, having heard about the girl's previous encounter and the fact that Tony had been practically adopted into the Cullen family.

Soon enough, the conversation kicked back in as Tony dug into his salad.

"Yeah. Hey, the Push, baby." Eric stated. "You in?" He asked Bella, who just looked at him confusedly.

"Should I know what that means?" She chuckled.

"La Push beach, down at the Quileute res." Mike explained. "We're all going tomorrow."

"There's a big swell coming in." Jessica added.

"And I don't just surf the internet." Eric stood on his chair to emphasize that he did, in fact, know how to surf. Mike stood on his chair and mocked the action.

"Eric, you stood up once." Jessica pointed out, "and it was a foam board."

"But there's also whale watching." Angela smiled, knowing how prone to accidents Bella could be. Surfing was definitely not her forte. "Come with us."

"La Push, baby. It's... La Push." Eric said, making Tony roll his eyes.

"Say it one more time and I'm La Pushing you off your chair." Anthony laughed, ripping off the plastic lid for his fruit cup.

Eric looked slightly threatened, a scared look in his eyes, while the others surrounding the table chuckled.

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "I'll go if you stop saying that."

"Hey, uh Tony, you should come too." Angela smiled.

Tony paused and glanced up from his food.

"Uh, I can't." He said, sending a look to his sister.

"Why not, man?" Mike asked, leaning forward.

"Well... I can't exactly surf." Anthony stated. "And it rains a lot in Forks, wet sand isn't good for the wheels of my oxygen tank. Normally I don't have to worry about it because there's plenty of pavement in all the places I need to be." He said as he put a bite of peach in his mouth.

"Hey, that's okay. We could- uh... we could take you in the van and you could hang out with Angela and Bella. You wouldn't even have to step out." Mike offered. "And we were planning on having a bonfire later if the weather was nice enough, we could just move the van and park it so you can still hang with us."

Mike was just trying to be as nice as possible to Anthony Swan. Despite looking like a ghost on life support, Tony was the picture of intimidation. Tyler Crowley was almost certain the boy would have picked up his heavy metal oxygen tank and whipped him across the face with it for that near fatal accident with his sister.

As luck should have it, Anthony beamed at the idea of hanging out at the beach when Mike put it in such terms.

It could be fun, and Tony needed friends other than the Cullens.

"Yeah actually, that sounds nice." Anthony nodded, turning his attention back to his food to hide his smile.

Normally, he might have ripped their heads off for acting like he was so fragile, but after his talk with Charlie he realized he had to come to terms with the idea that he was, in fact, very breakable.

Isabella's friends seemed like a good place to start. He had no emotional attachments, and if he screwed up it wouldn't matter too much because Bella knows he really is trying his best to stay polite and open. He knew if he snapped and yelled at the Cullens he would kick himself for it later and the guilt would eat him alive.

Across from him, Isabella looked at her brother in surprise at his reaction, but behind her eyes there was a certain pride.

"Hey, maybe you could bring your sketching stuff. Draw the ocean or something." Bella suggested, knowing how much the boy missed his art.

Not the kind of stuff he did in class, that was all controlled and in a frame. He's being told what to do.

But his old art pieces were something completely different. Like a bird without a cage, he painted freedom like it wasn't some fantasy that he had been denied, he drew a story of health like it was always there, his art would depict the things he'd always wanted to see in the world. Freedom for a gay man, health for a cancer patient.

They were beautiful, and Isabella was right, he did miss it.

For the longest time he was scared of his art. After his cancer became terminal it was more difficult to draw what he wanted to see in the world. So much suffering and torturous treatment with no end in sight, it was like all he wanted to see was the end.

And that scared him.

"I think I will." Anthony nodded, looking past his sister at the table of Cullens. "Maybe I just need to see something new."


	16. FIFTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. they're just stories !

— WHEN ISABELLA'S FRIENDS SHOWED UP AT THEIR HOUSE THE NEXT DAY TO PICK UP THE SWAN SIBLINGS, Tony had just found out that Bella had invited Edward Cullen to join them. Though he had declined.

Him and Bella sat on the front porch and talked about the conversation they'd had.

"You actually told him about the radioactive spiders theory?" Anthony laughed.

"I thought it'd be a good idea." Bella defended.

"Yeah, a good idea to get yourself embarrassed." Tony chuckled. "But he actually told you that you shouldn't be friends with him? If he's so dangerous why did he warn you and not me? Not to be narcissistic, but I have been hanging out with the Cullens more than you have."

"Honestly, I don't know."

Then the newly repaired van appeared with Tyler and Angela in the front seats, pulling up in front of the house. So Bella stood and tugged Anthony up after her.

Though that conversation didn't quite leave Tony's mind. It was far too short in his opinion, and he really wanted to figure out what was going on with the Cullens.

— DESPITE THE VAN SMELLING VAGUELY OF TAKEOUT AND STALE CHIPS, the ride was actually pretty enjoyable. The radio was on playing some soft rock and they all just basked in the atmosphere. 

When they arrived at the beach, Mike's old Suburban pulled in next to them.

Soon enough, the doors of both cars were open and everyone was finding their things and getting organized to do whatever it was they were doing.

Eric, Mike and Jessica were all getting situated with their water suits and surf boards. Tyler had spotted some friends of his and went over to chat with them. Then that left Isabella, Angela and Tony to wrap up in blankets and stay cozied up in the van.

When they arrived, Tony had gotten out of his seat and opened the two doors on his right so that he and Bella had room to sit down. He leaned back against the seat while Isabella sat on the floor of the vehicle.

Anthony kept glancing on the bag that he'd brought with him that had a few of his art supplies. He could easily pull them out and draw something. Maybe he could paint the water, or draw Bella who was actually looking quite picturesque wrapped up in her blanket eating twizzlers.

Start with something he knew or saw.

So he pulled out his old sketch book, running his hands over the ancient thing. Opening it to a random page, he saw a detailed painting of one of his dad's old coffee mugs. He remembered using it as practice for semi-realism art. 

Another page was a drawing of Liv and Daniel, with Liv sitting criss-cross at the end of Danny's bed and facing him. It looked as if the two were laughing and Liv had smoke hanging from her lips with a cigarette between her fingers.

It looked so well drawn that it could have been a still frame from a video recording.

Tony flipped the page and saw Charlie. It had the same quality as the last one, drawn to perfection from Anthony's own point of view when Charlie had visited the hospital that one time.

He was sitting in a chair next to Tony's bed, his eyes lit up by the tv ahead of him and a few boxes of Chinese take out on the table beside him.

Looking at the drawings and reminiscing the times they were drawn, Tony didn't realize Angela had sat herself down in the seat next to him until she cleared her throat.

"Those are really good." She smiled, nudging up her glasses.

"Thanks." Tony nodded, still looking down at his drawings.

Angela looked a little disheartened that he wasn't trying to keep up conversation, and was obviously going to give up all together until Tony spoke up again.

"You do photography, don't you?" He asked, glancing up at her before turning to a different page, this time a drawing with an IV drip as the main subject.

"Live it and breathe it, yeah." Angela joked, glad that Tony was participating.

"Are you ever in the pictures yourself?"

"No- uh, not often at least." Angela laughed.

"Would you mind being my model so I can practice drawing?" Tony asked, turning to a blank page and pulling out his pencil.

"Oh, um, I don't think I look the part right now." The brunette looked down at her oversized coat and blanket.

"You look brilliant." Anthony stated, while Angela blushed. "I'd prefer to draw people in a natural state rather than some fake airbrushed moment. You're the perfect candidate." Tony smiled kindly.

Angela nodded with a heavy blush, "Okay."

So he got to work on that drawing, looking up every once in a while to examine Angela's features.

"It's freezing." They heard one of the boys complain from outside the van. 

"I'm paddling out, Coates." Tyler unformed as he jogged away from the group, an orange and yellow board under his arm.

"I dunno if it's worth it anymore." Eric added.

"Go on and get out there, you wuss." Anthony teased, not looking up from his sketch.

"Yeah," Jessica agreed. "We drove all the way out here, I'm at least paddling out."

"She's right." Mike sighed. All three of them were trying to zip up their swim suits.

"You guys are babies."

Anthony laughed, "She's right about that too."

It was quiet for a moment, and Angela turned to talk to Bella quietly.

"So I keep thinking that Eric's gonna ask me to the prom..." She started. "And then he just... doesn't."

Anthony tried to ignore the conversation, not wanting to interrupt or be rude.

"You should ask him." Bella suggested. "Take control. You're a strong, independent woman."

"I am?"

"Yes."

Tony decided to put in his two cents, "He'd have to be stupid to turn you down." 

"Thank you, Tony." Angela smiled shyly. Jessica moved in on Angela to ask her to pull up the zipper of her swim suit, which the brunette did.

Anthony was still preoccupied with his sketch. It seemed like the act of drawing was implanted in his mind like muscle memory, and it was turning out much better than he thought it would.

"Bella." Another voice greeted.

Tony looked up briefly to see the familiar face of Jacob Black. Well not quite familiar, as they had both aged quite a bit since they last saw each other, but Anthony could remember Jacob from when he was younger and they played with trains together.

"Hi, Jacob. Guys, this is Jacob." Bella greeted and introduced. 

"Jake." Anthony nodded, reaching forward to shake the boy's hand.

"Tony! Hey man, how've you been?" Jacob grinned, obviously remembering his other childhood friend.

Anthony glanced down at the oxygen tank between his feet.

"Could be better." He shrugged.

Jacob's smile dropped and he coughed awkwardly. 

"Right. I heard about that."

It was silent for a moment as Tony turned back to his sketchbook, not noticing the tension he'd caused.

"So," Bella broke the moment. "Jake, are you like- stalking me now?"

"You're on my res, remember?"

The Swan girl made a sound like 'right, duh'. 

"Are you surfin'" Jacob asked.

Tony snorted slightly. His sister? Surfing? Not likely.

"Ah, definitely not." Bella laughed, offering Jacob a twizzler which he thanked her for.

"Yo, Bells. Pass me one." Tony's hand shot out between Jacob and Bella's heads. Since he was positioned a little farther back to make room for Jake to sit, he had to lean across the seat.

Once Isabella placed a twizzler in his hand, he pulled back up and kept it in his mouth while he drew, having to steady the book with one hand and hold a pencil in the other.

"You guys should keep Bella company. Um, her date... bailed." Jessica said.

"What date?" One of the hormonal boys asked worriedly, still trying to zip up his suit.

"She invited Edward." Jessica laughed, as if it were some big joke.

"To be polite, that's it." Bella cleared up. 

"I think it's nice that she invited him. Nobody ever does." Angela's soft voice spoke, kind as ever.

"Yeah, 'cause Cullen's a freak." Mike chuckled. The grip Anthony had on his pencil seemed to tighten significantly. So much that his knuckles turned white.

"You got that right." Tony hadn't even noticed the two other guys that Jacob had arrived with.

"You guys know him?" Bella asked curiously.

One of the boys nodded. "The Cullens don't come here."

At that, Tony's eyebrows furrowed as he thought over those words.

— AT SOME POINT JACOB'S FRIENDS DISAPPEARED JUST AS HE AND BELLA DID, claiming they were going to take a walk. 

Bella and Anthony seemed to have a telepathic conversation before she walked away where they agreed she'd ask about what Jacob's friend said.

Tony finished up his drawing of Angela. It showed her, beaming brightly with a big coat and a blanket around her shoulders, her camera in her hands.

Angela insisted she took a picture of it, she was so impressed.

Then Anthony went on to landscapes. Mike got the keys for the van from Tyler and moved the vehicle so it was parked sideways, overlooking the beach and ocean. He did it so Tony could actually see what was going on without getting out.

So Anthony pulled out his paints and worked on the beach until Bella came back later in the evening and everyone decided the water was becoming to cold to swim in.

True to his word, when they'd decided to have a bonfire, Mike moved the van so it was closer to where the pit was, which was probably against the rules to drive on the sand but Mike didn't seem to care. Since the sand was wet anyway, it didn't move around as much when he drove.

The boys all grabbed firewood and put it in a pile while the girls grabbed hotdogs and marshmallows out of their hiding spots, along with the roasting sticks.

Soon enough, a bonfire was in full swing in all its orange, blazing glory. Someone had brought a radio and was playing tunes. Occasionally a song would come on that everyone knew the lyrics too, and they'd all sing along.

With the light in the roof of the van on, Anthony could still see what he was drawing and decided to draw the moment he was in, the bonfire, the people, the food, the radio, the sky, the sand, the water. It was a perfect scene.

"Hey Tony! You want a hotdog?" Eric yelled.

"Do we have ketchup?" He called back.

Eric called back a noise of 'yes'.

"Then yes, please."

"You're so basic." Jessica laughed. "Only ketchup on a hotdog?"

Anthony shrugged, looking up from his drawing, "What can I say? I'm a simple man. Except for vanilla- you cannot convince me-" Tony began before he was interrupted.

"You were saying just the other day how much you love the smell of vanilla!" Bella accused lightheartedly.

"Doesn't mean it's the best ice cream flavour. Chocolate wins everything."

"No way man, moose tracks is the best." Mike defended.

"I'm peanut free." Tony reminded. "Extremely allergic."

"You are officially disowned."

Anthony laughed. It felt nice, to laugh. He missed the feeling of being this free, open and happy. He realized just how exhausting putting up that jerk face front to them was.

He never had to pretend with Liv and Danny, which is probably why he grew so attached to them. They knew exactly what he was going through. They'd seen his life go by while in the hospital.

"What are you drawing now?" He got pulled out of his thoughts as Angela strolled back up towards him, Jessica falling in behind her.

He held up his sketch book to show her.

"That's incredible." Jessica gasped, leaning forward to get a better look.

"You have a lot of talent." Angela complimented.

Anthony smiled in thanks and looked back down at his drawing.

Bella was definitely right, he really missed art.


	17. SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. sunny days bleed away !

— AFTER THE RATHER FUN BEACH DAY WITH BELLA'S FRIENDS, and now Tony's friends he supposed, the two siblings were dropped off back home. 

When they entered the house, their father was passed out on the couch with the TV on again. He always wanted to watch his shows and rerun games but he was so exhausted all the time that he couldn't get through them.

Isabella shuffled up the stairs quietly, Tony behind her, struggling to hold his oxygen tank and his heavy art bag.

Once they made it to the top of the stairs, Bella went to turn the knob on the door to enter her room.

"Psst, hey." Tony addressed.

Isabella shooshed him and glanced down the stairs, waiting for signs of movement.

When nothing came, she looked back up at Tony, who had an amused look and raised eyebrow.

"What?" She asked.

"Meet me in my room in about ten minutes, you have to tell me what Jake said."

Bella nodded, "Right, okay."

Tony would have followed Bella into her room in the first place, but he had to either switch out his oxygen tank again or hook himself up to the oxygen concentrator in his room.

The latter seemed like a better option.

Besides, he also had to change into something more comfortable and clean the paint brushes he'd used because dipping them in water was never enough.

Renée always thought his obsession with art was a bad idea. She discouraged him, saying stuff like 'he would never make a living on it' and 'it took years to have the same talent as those famous artists'.

It was obvious to Tony, she didn't know what the real meaning of art is. Or his art at least. It's not meant to be a perfect carbon copy of someone who was before him. He didn't make art for someone else to have credit, he did it as an outlet for his feelings. Or to preserve memories.

There were a lot of things Renée didn't understand about her son, but Tony really wished she at least understood his art.

Like Charlie always had. It was always Charlie that hung up his drawings on the fridge, or carried a small one that Tony made on a sticky note in his wallet to show his friends at the station.

It was Charlie that bought the art supplies. The pencils, the paper, the paint. It was Charlie that found him some jam jars and even lids so he could travel with paint water.

It was always Charlie.

This is what Tony thought about as he pulled out the sponge he kept in the bathroom, cleaning out the glass jam jar he'd used that day.

He took out the paint brushes, wrapped in bits of plastic wrap to keep them wet and easy to clean.

When he was finished getting all the paint out, he put the brushes on a paper towel off to the side and then crouched down to put his jam jar in the cupboard. It clinked slightly against the other four that were in there and made a hollow knocking noise as it bounced against a bottle of soap.

Tony dried off his hands and grabbed his oxygen tank that he could feel was beginning to stop working.

Getting into his room, the first thing he did was set the oxygen tank to refill. Then he grabbed a pullover sweater and sweatpants, changing quickly so he could hook up the oxygen concentrator and flop down onto his bed.

Isabella popped in only seconds later with her laptop in her hands. She sat at Tony's desk as he sat up.

"So?"

"So I asked Jacob what his friends meant about 'the Cullens don't come here' and I got a whole lotta weird." Isabella started.

"Weird can be good." Tony shrugged, leaning back into his pillows.

Isabella sent him a pointed look.

"Weird isn't good?" He corrected.

"He said his tribe are descendants of wolves." The brunette woman said, turning to type on their laptop.

"Like- real wolves?"

"Yes."

"Like, actual real wolves." Tony checked.

"Yes." Bella sighed, nodding.

"Pardon my French: but what the fuck." Anthony whispered, looking down at his bedsheets.

"I know."

"But- wha- hold up, that doesn't tell us what's up with the Cullens." Tony pointed out.

Bella grabbed a light blue sticky note from Anthony's desk and a pencil.

"No, it doesn't." She agreed, scribbling down something in the small piece of paper. "But this might." She held it up to reveal to him, an address.

Thunder & Whale bookstore in Port Angeles.

"Great, road trip."

— WHEN MONDAY KNOCKED ON THEIR DOOR, Anthony and Bella were trying to make plans for when they could go to Port Angeles. They were too tired from their trip to the beach to drive out on Sunday, so that didn't happen.

Anthony couldn't deny he'd been feeling a bit weird about everything. Almost like nervous butterflies that you just couldn't shake, he felt a weight on his chest like there was something lurking just beyond the corner. Something bad.

Normally he'd write it off as his cancer, but he had grown familiar with the constant dull ache in his chest that his condition provided. This was different, he could tell.

Either way, it was Monday, and the Swan siblings had to go to school. 

What really poured down the rain on his day was the lack of. For the first time since they moved to Forks, the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky.

Anthony hated it. He liked the cold, the wet, the shade.

The heat always became too much for him.

He lived by a motto; when it's cold, you can put on as many layers as you want. When it's hot, you can only take off so many layers before it gets illegal.

Plus, the heat reminded him of Arizona. It almost made him feel homesick. Not for Renée and Phil, but for Liv's early morning rambles and Daniel's night time stories. Or when Liv pushed all their beds together and they got set up for movie marathons, when Danny would try and catch popcorn in his mouth but ultimately fail.

Anthony even missed Liv's coffee withdrawals, when she swore like a sailor at every person that walked in. Eventually she did it so often that no coffee place in a three block radius would serve her.

Yeah, he missed them.

Especially as he stared down Danny's army tags on his way to school.

Bella noticed Anthony's fixation but didn't mention it, not wanting to break him out of his trance-like state.

— IT SEEMED LIKE NOTHING COULD SHAKE HIM FROM HIS GLOOMY SICKNESS. Not only did he miss Liv and Daniel, but none of the Cullens were at school.

He almost didn't notice that Alice wasn't sitting next to him in Art. He expected her cheery attitude to immediately raise his spirits but was ruthlessly surprised when she wasn't there.

Then came history. Jasper was no where to be found. Anthony had his eyes almost glued to the door, expecting the blond Hale to just be late. He found that wasn't the case though when the bell rang out and Jasper was still a no show.

So he went to the medical building to replace his oxygen tank, in a worse mood than he was before.

"What's got you looking so upset?"

Tony was sitting in a waiting chair. The person that spoke was the man who was replacing the tank.

"Nothing." Anthony sighed, leaning back into the uncomfortable plastic.

"I'm sure it's not nothing."

The man's voice had some sort of accent. English, if Tony had to guess.

"I'm fine." Tony assured. The man sat in a chair across from him.

"Well if you're not gonna talk about it then I may as well introduce myself. Hello, my name is Reyes Jaylin." The man spoke, his voice changing pitches to match what he was saying. "Oh- but most people call me Blue." He added, as if he forgot. "Well, my American friends, anyway."

"Blue? Like the raptor from Jurassic World?" Tony asked with a laugh.

"Woah, I never even thought of that." Reyes gasped. "No, it's more so because jay birds are a thing and boy o' boy have you seen how blue they are around here? I've never seen anything like it, really. I mean- there's jays in Europe but they do not look like that."

"Hey, don't knock the blue, those things are majestic." Tony laughed. His laugh surprised himself, he wasn't expecting the sound as he'd been in a foul mood all morning.

"But um, I'm Anthony Swan."

Reyes let out a noise of excitement, "Look at us, Jay bird and Swan."

"Yeah." Anthony chuckled, shaking his head. "People call me Tony."

"Well that's disappointing. Tell them to be more original."

"Y'know you do not look old enough to be here." Tony mused, looking around at the practically empty medical building.

"Hey hey- I'm the one with a bachelor's degree, okay?" Reyes defended as he stood up to grab Anthony's oxygen tank.

Tony raised his hands up in mock defence before he grabbed the handle and tucked the tubing behind his ears. As he adjusted the nasal prongs, he stood up to leave.

"It was nice talking to you." Tony smiled, going for the door.

"Hold up- wait. Uh, what are your favourite kinds of cookies?" Reyes rushingly asked.

Anthony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Can never go wrong with chocolate chip?"

"Okay! You're free to go." Reyes grinned and shooed him out the door.

Anthony stumbled out down the steps just as the bell for lunch rang out. He spotted a bunch of students heading outside to soak up as much sun as possible and decided to head towards them, knowing Bella preferred the heat.

His assumption that she'd be outside was correct when he saw Jessica and Isabella on a picnic table, trying to collect as much of the sun's rays as possible.

Forgetting about the odd man in the medical building, he went over and sat down not bothering to grab himself a lunch.

Isabella barely acknowledged him, glancing around as if looking for something.

"He's not here." Tony informed, alerting Jessica of his presence. She'd had her eyes closed before. "None of them are." He knew his sister was looking for Edward and his family.

"Tony, hey." Jessica greeted, sitting up slightly.

Anthony smiled at her slightly. Jessica then figured out what Tony had been talking about.

"Whenever the weather's nice, the Cullens disappear." The brown haired girl said. 

Tony and Bella shared a glance as Jessica closed her eyes again.

"What, so they just ditch?" Isabella asked.

"No, um, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen yank 'em out for, like, hiking and camping and stuff." Jessica told them. "I tried that on my parents, not even close." She added.

Then Angela made an appearance, popping up behind Jessica and next to Bella, where Tony was sitting across from his sister.

"Guys, I'm going to the prom with Eric. I just asked him. I took control." Angela told them excitedly.

"I told you that would happen." Bella said, hugging her.

Anthony just smiled at the girl in glasses and muttered a congrats.

"Are you sure you have to go outta town?" Angela asked Isabella as she pulled away.

Anthony looked at his sister confusedly. He hadn't heard she was going out of town, but Bella sent him a look to keep quiet so he did.

"Yeah," Anthony began. "She has a family thing."

"Then why aren't you going?" Jessica asked.

"And miss prom night? Are you kidding?" Anthony chuckled.

"You have a date?" Jessica leaned forward.

Anthony muttered a 'not yet'.

"Okay, anyway, we should go shopping in Port Angeles before all the good dresses get cleaned out." Jessica leaned back again to try and gather more sun in her skin.

"Please, you guys will look fine even if you wore a potato sack Marilyn Monroe style." Anthony scoffed.

Jessica and Angela blushed lightly.

"Though my suggestion for you, Angela, is purple. Something simple, something calm. It's totally your colour and it matches your calm personality." Tony added. Then he turned to Jessica. "And something pink for you. Accentuates your body and the colour of your hair, and highlights your fun loving personality."

Both girls seemed to take mental notes.

"But hey, that's just my opinion so no pressure." Tony smiled kindly.

Bella spoke. "So, Port Angeles. You think we could come with you?"

Angela laughed. "Uh, yeah. I need your opinion, and apparently Tony's."

They all stood up, and Tony said a farewell before picking up his oxygen tank and heading to his Trig class.

"So," Jessica turned to the girls. "Is it just me or was your brother flirting?"

Bella laughed, "With you? Not likely."

"Well that was a little harsh." Jessica rolled her eyes.

"No- that's not what I meant I just meant, like..," Bella tried. "Anthony is gay. Like- really gay."

Jessica looked like a deer caught in headlights. 

"Really?" She asked.

Angela stepped in with a laugh.

"Are you kidding? How could you not know?" The brunette said, looking at Tony's retreating figure.

"No straight guy is that nice."


	18. SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. protect people like you !

— THE TRIP TO PORT ANGELES WAS MORE AWKWARD FOR ANTHONY THAN THE LAST TIME. To be entirely honest, he much preferred shopping with Alice. She was easy to talk to, and didn't constantly blush when he treated her like an actual human being.

Yet still, he sat curled up on a cushy ottoman, eating skittles out of the bag. He remembered the shop they were in briefly, though he and Alice hadn't gone in and only glanced at it through the window.

They had some nice dresses, which were being displayed by Angela and Jessica.

It seemed like both girls had taken what Tony said to heart, and had only tried on what he suggested.

Anthony glanced over at his sister, who, mentally, looked far away and deep in thought.

"I kinda like this one, but I dunno about the one-shoulder thing." Jessica grabbed a bright pink dress and held it up to her frame. She turned to Tony, "Opinions?"

Anthony finished off a skittle before he spoke, "Strapless or intricate straps to be safe if you don't know how you're doing your hair yet. My opinion: one shoulder just doesn't look right unless you have your hair up or to one side."

Jessica nodded with a smile and hung the dress back up.

"What about this one?" Angela held a blueish tinted one with small beads sewn into the chest.

"I like the beading, you wouldn't need jewelry." Jessica offered.

Anthony spoke up. "Forks is way too cold, you'll be wearing some sort of overcoat and the beading won't be noticeable." He said as he popped a red skittle in his mouth.

Angela laughed and put the dress back.

"What would we do with out you, Tony?" She asked rhetorically.

"I suspect there'd be a freak out, Bella here wouldn't know what to do and then," Tony imitated an explosion noise, "Crash and burn."

Jessica, who was inside a dressing room, yelled out.

"He's not wrong."

"What's the problem with the dress you're wearing?" Anthony asked, pointing out the simplistic, beautiful dress that Angela had on.

Angela glanced down with a slightly scrunched nose.

"Lavender? Is that good? Is that my colour?"

Jessica came out from the dressing room with a strapless, pink dress paired with white elbow length gloves.

"I like it." She stated, then looked in the mirror. "Okay, I like this one. It makes my boobs look good." Jessica said as she fluffed her hair.

Tony let out a low whistle, looking at the two.

"Ladies, I believe these are the ones. You guys look wonderful." He complimented, offering out the bag of skittles for the women. Only Angela took a few.

Then there was a knock on the window and a few catcalls. When Anthony turned to see, there were a group of frat boys outside, lusting after Angela and Jessica.

Tony flipped one of them off, which seemed to anger him as he pounded a fist against the glass.

"Oh, choke on your dignity." Anthony dismissed, yelling loud enough for the boy to hear it. "You don't seem to have much left and y'know, tiny things are hazardous to small minded creatures."

Despite how desperately Tony wanted to make a dick joke in honour of Liv, he didn't. Only because he had three ladies on his side of the glass that would hound him for it.

So when the guy's knuckles tapped harshly again, making a hollow echoey sound, Anthony decided to fall back on:

"Eat one, asshole."

At that point, one of the other boys pointed out Tony's tubing and the guy that was oh so angry simply huffed and walked away.

"I hate people like that, thinking that's the way they should treat someone, like some piece of meat or hey- real estate? Absolute jerkoffs I swear," Tony rambled as he dug back into his skittles.

"Tony, that guy looked like he wanted to hurt you- what the hell were you doing? Taunting him like that?" Bella rushed in a disappointed and concerned tone.

"Chill out, Mom. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't ma- he's twice your size! He could probably take you down with one hit!" Isabella yelled. Angela and Jessica fell quiet, but didn't move from their spots.

"He can't though. We get into a fight: he loses either way. Let's say he wins, then he's the guy that beat up a kid with terminal lung cancer. Now let's say I win, then he's the guy that got beat up by a kid with terminal lung cancer." Anthony said, grabbing an assortment of skittles and eating them before he continued.

"Either way it's a win-win for me, and I don't care if I get into a fight with someone over something like that." He said.

"Treat people with some goddamn respect and maybe the world wouldn't need people like me trying to protect people like you." The girls could sense that he was finished, and Angela seemed to be the only one who was brave enough to speak up.

"Someone got hurt before, didn't they. Someone that made you angry at those kinds of people. You wouldn't have gotten so heated about it otherwise." Angela muttered.

Anthony sighed, "Just forget it, okay? Y'know I think there was a bookstore Bella and I wanted to check out so we'll meet you at the restaurant." He grabbed his shoulder bag and oxygen tank and practically ran as much as he could out of the shop.

Bella sent the two other girls an apologetic look, to which they waved off with awkward smiles. Then, she joined her brother outside.

"Tony," Bella began as her feet hit the pavement.

"Don't." Anthony demanded, turning around and tucking his left hand in his pocket. "Just- let's just get going, yeah?

Without waiting for a response, Tony turned and began walking in the direction of the bookstore they needed to find. He'd looked up a map earlier and was pretty sure he passed it on his day out with Alice anyway.

"Anthony, you can't just go off like that and then not expect questions." Isabella stated as she tried to catch up. It didn't take much, even she couldn't be outrun but the cancer patient.

"Bells," he sighed, stopping in his tracks and facing her. He parked his oxygen tank next to him. "Yes, I've seen what douche canoes like that have done to people. I used to live in a fucking hospital, okay? It's inhumane and disgusting." Tony spat, glaring at the ground. "And when Liv-" he cut himself off, a shake in his voice. The boy took a deep breath.

"Look," He tried, still not looking Bella in the eyes. "I get that you're worried that I'll get into a fight I can't handle, but I'd rather die fighting one of those assholes than deteriorate slowly and quietly in a hospital bed." Tony finally looked his sister in the eyes as he finished, "Got it?"

Isabella simply nodded.

Anthony paused for a moment before grabbing the handle of his oxygen tank and yanking it along after him. Bella followed silently.

Once almost twenty minutes had passed, Tony slowly came to a crawling halt in front of a bench. He didn't want to show it but it was becoming increasingly more difficult for him to walk long distances. He kept trying to push through so he knew Bella wouldn't have to walk alone. One weak, pretty much useless partner is better than walking through the dark with nothing.

"Tony, sit down. You don't look too good." Bella said, helping to lower Anthony to the wooden bench that was slightly damp.

"Wow, thank you so much." He muttered sarcastically. Though he could practically feel his chest screaming for him to stop talking.

"You can not keep walking like this." Isabella brought out the voice. That voice that reminded him of Renée. He loathed it.

"Like hell I can't." He snapped, though he made no move to get back up. "Fine, you go on ahead maybe I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Are you sure?" Bella hesitated, though she really wanted to get to the bookstore soon.

"The f- of course I'm sure, just go!." He shooed. The brunette woman nodded and left Tony on the bench.

Anthony watched as Bella walked down the sidewalk and turn the corner, then sighed and leaned back, putting a hand to his chest to try and ease the pain.

He reached into his shoulder bag and grabbed his painkillers, which he hadn't been taking half as often as he was supposed to, yet still they were almost gone. He'd have to go back to the hospital and get a refill. 

Just as he dry swallowed one and tucked the case back in his bag, a honk came from behind him. Turning, he saw a familiar silver Volvo with a similarly familiar face in the front seat.

"Need a ride?" Edward spoke through the open window.

Anthony chuckled and stood up, going to lean against the car.

"Why are you stalking my sister?" He asked bluntly.

Edward visibly inhaled.

"Because I worry about her."

It was silent for a moment, both boys staring back at each other. Then, Anthony shrugged.

"Can't argue with that, she's as dumb as a doorknob sometimes." He agreed as he popped open the door of the backseat and slid in, pulling his oxygen tank in to sit next to him.

"So, back to following my dumbass sister." Anthony exclaimed while Edward stepped on the gas.

Tony sunk back into the seats, still trying to deal with his achy chest. Edward was glancing at the Boy worriedly through the rear-view mirror.

"Are you okay there, Tony?" Edward asked.

Tony waved him off.

"M'fine Eddie."

Yet, little did Anthony know, Edward could and was reading the boy's mind. He could tell things weren't as fine as Tony wanted people to believe.

No really, I'm fine Eddie. I just think, y'know, I'm dying a lot faster than I thought and I can't even tell Bella because it'll freak her out and I can't do that when we're finally on speaking terms and I can't tell Dad because he'll get upset and I definitely can't tell Renée because god knows she won't leave me the hell alone.

The thoughts flying around Anthony's head were giving Edward an almost physical headache. It was difficult to discern word from word, but he managed to catch the idea.

"I'm gonna ask you again, are you okay?" Edward tried, looking at the brown eyes boy in the backseat.

Anthony glanced up long enough for them to lock eyes.

"What do you think?"

"What I think isn't the problem, is it? Why do you think you're gonna die soon?" Edward asked.

Tony tried to change the topic, "Are you psychic or something?"

"Tony." The Cullen spoke in a warning tone.

Anthony sighed.

"Right now, the thought of actually eating physically repulses me, but I force myself to do it so I don't worry Dad or Bella. I've been getting cold so easily because a bunch of my body fat is gone- have you seen how damn small I am now? Not quite Liv Marigold bad but still pretty bad." He sighed. 

"And I already know what comes next. Next I get weaker and weaker. I won't be able to sleep and then I'll be even more exhausted than before and there's nothing I can do about it." Tony rambled.

Edward stayed quiet for a second.

"You should tell them." The bronze haired boy suggested.

Anthony scoffed.

"No, really. It'll sound better coming from you than from your doctor or the person that calls time of death."

Tony couldn't deny that Edward wasn't entirely wrong. Maybe it was the coward in him that just felt like he couldn't say anything.

"They've got enough on their plates right now." He muttered.

"Whatever man. By the way, there should be a blanket back there somewhere." Edward said, remembering what Tony said about being cold

Anthony found the soft grey blanket and wrapped it around himself.

"Thanks."


	19. EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. vampire, vampire !

— RIDING IN THE CAR WITH EDWARD WAS A SURPRISINGLY COMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE. It just seemed like the Cullens had a calming effect on Anthony, which he welcomed with open arms.

The radio played almost silently, something classical that Tony probably wouldn't know the name of and the sound was almost drowned out by the buzz of the heater.

Normally, Anthony would hate this kind of warmth but his body seemed to have a mind of its own now a days. So he just shuffled farther into the blanket and watched Edward crank up the heat a bit more.

Anthony was oblivious to Edward monitoring him. The bronze haired boy glanced in the rear view mirror every two minutes and was listening in on the Swan's heartbeat constantly.

Tony was pretty sure by now it was less of a car and more of a sauna, but Edward didn't seem to mind so he let it be.

"Hey Eddie?" Anthony spoke finally, his voice sounding like that of a child's.

"Yeah, Tone?" Edward glanced in the rear view mirror again.

"What are you?" Tony asked. It was a loaded question, and now Edward knew that the Swans were on to him and his family.

"I don't understa-" 

"Cut the crap, Edward. We're gonna find out anyway. That's why Bella came on this trip in the first place, she found a lead in a book of Quiluete legends. To be entirely honest though, I'd rather hear it from one of you."

Edward sighed heavily.

"I- I don't know if I should tell you. You and Bella, you would see us all differently." The Cullen explained. "And my family seems to have taken a liking to you. If you knew what we were, you might never want to see us again and I couldn't do that to Jasper and Alice."

Tony leaned forward a bit, realizing he hadn't buckled up his seatbelt.

"Eddie, Alice is a part of my life now, and I want Jasper to be part of it too." Tony said. "But how am I supposed to trust you when I don't even know what you are."

The Cullen turned into a different road and gripped the wheel tightly as he steadied the vehicle.

"We're... it's complicated."

"Edward I swear to- just fucking tell me already. Stop being such a tease. Wouldn't you rather I hear it from you then to jump to conclusions later?" Tony shuffled in his seat and glanced out the window at the slowly darkening sky.

"That's exactly what I told you about ten minutes ago." The boy behind the wheel tried to change the subject, awkwardly coughing.

"Edward." Tony warned.

Edward sighed heavily again, and then pulled the car over to park it. It was silent for a moment, and Anthony examined the other boy expectantly.

"Vampire."

"That's so fuckin' cool."

Edward turned in his seat and looked at Anthony confusedly.

"Let's try that one again: we are vampires, and we have strict dietary needs." Edward announced each word like he was explaining something to a child. 

"Oh shit- yeah. What do you guys eat? It can't be human blood because man would that raise suspicion in such a small town. Wait hold up- there's been a few attacks but they said that it was an animal, that wasn't you was it? If so, man you need to sort out some priorities. Did you know that the coconut juice stuff can be used in an emergency blood transplant, so can you drink that? Like a vegan vampire, dude that'd be so cool. Wait do you go crazy with like- period blood 'cause oooh boy you cannot be around my sister on Satan's week man it is intense-" 

Tony was ranting everything that came to mind, trying to come to terms with the fact that the family he considers his friends are actually a human killing, blood sucking myth that he only just found out actually existed. 

Edward cut him off, "How- How the hell are you taking this so well?"

Despite the situation, Tony grinned.

"Man, I grew up reading comic books. They've been one of my life lines. I've been waiting my whole life for something like this to be real."

"Just don't confuse us for heroes."

"Oh no- I totally get that you're a killer and all that but like- do you think killing me would matter?" Tony laughed, though Edward's frown deepened. "But if you kill my sister I promise I will come back and haunt your ass because if vampires are a thing, I'm assuming ghosts are a thing so get ready to be booed bitch." Anthony held up his arms in a very Thriller-esque stance, like he was clawing Edwards face. Despite the intimidating position he was in, he was laughing so hard he was sure his lungs would fail on him.

A small smile appeared on Edward's face as he saw Tony so giggly.

"You are one strange human." The boy shook his head and turned the car back on. "And if you must know, my family and I are vegetarian."

Anthony gasped to stop his laughter and leaned forward against the passenger and driver's seats, a goofy smile on his face.

"What the fu- you've gotta tell me everything, man."

— EDWARD SEEMED TO ANSWER EVERY SINGLE QUESTION THAT TONY HAD WITHOUT DIFFICULTY, and Tony had found out what they eat, what kind of natural abilities they have and the abilities that Edward and Alice have.

"So you can read minds?" Anthony asked again, mulling over the idea in his head. He'd finally calmed down his mini freak out and was genuinely interested in the information Edward was offering.

He was half expecting to wake up and for this all to be some crazy dream.

"Yes."

"Goddamn psychic vampire. What has my life come to." Anthony leaned back in his seat.

"Has Alice ever had a... thing... what would you call it?"

"A vision?"

"Oh- shit that's cooler than what I was thinking. Anyway- has she ever had a vision about me?" Anthony asked, leaning forward again.

"Many times, yes."

Tony hummed.

"What has she seen?" He asked. He wasn't gonna come right out and ask if Alice had seen his fast approaching death but Edward seemed to get the idea.

"You dying is a mystery to us right now. As for other visions, Alice should tell you herself." Edward pulled onto another road. At this point Tony was sure he was tracking Bella with his abilities and staying far enough away so that she couldn't see the silver Volvo.

"Okay... y'know what," Tony pulled out his phone and opened his and Alice's text conversation.

Tony  
I know

Tony  
Your brother isn't good at keeping secrets I hope you know that.

Tony  
I don't think of you any differently babe, I doubt it's something you can control and I still love you and your whack job family all the same.

Alice  
You do?

Tony  
Of course I do, I'm not the kind of guy to leave you over something like that. Just don't bite me and we'll be fine ;)

Tony  
That sounded way less kinky in my head

Tony  
I'm gay

Tony  
Besides the point, can I have Jasper's number? Assuming he has a phone idk how old he is woah wait do I have a crush on a 90 y/o man??

Alice  
Oh honey it's a little worse than that. But I'm really glad you still wanna be friends, it would have sucked without you around  
Yeah, I'll send his contact info hold on

Tony  
Yo, hold up, how much worse?? He's older than 90??

Alice  
Ask Edward how old he is and keep in mind Jasper is older than that

Anthony took a breath and pause before looking up at Edward through the mirror.

"Hey Eddie, how old are you?"

The boy cast a confused glance but answered the question anyways.

"104."

"Holy shit." Anthony gasped.

"You swear a lot." Edward deadpanned, which wasn't meant to be caught by Tony, but since the Swan was looking into the rear view mirror, he caught the look.

"I have every right to swear, bitch boy." Tony glared before he turned back to his phone, where Alice had shared Jasper's contact.

Opening the number into a new conversation, Anthony typed out a message.

Tony  
Bitch.

Jasper  
Who is this?

Tony  
Your worst nightmare.

Jasper  
No really, who is this?

Tony  
Your conscience, jimmy cricket

Jasper  
His name was Jiminy.

Tony  
wHO GIVES A SHIT

Tony  
Firstly, next time maybe a warning that you're a supernatural thing before I get too attached that'd be nice thank you

Tony  
Not that I'm gonna leave now that I know but it would have been nIce tO hAVe oPTiOns

Jasper  
Tony?

Tony  
Yeah?

Jasper  
No, I just wanted to check and see that it was you.

Tony  
B o y who else would it be?

Tony  
AnywAY you also had every right to hide something like that from me and I'm pretty sure I was being a bit of an ass, pulling away from you like that on that biology trip.

Tony  
You have every right be mad or upset with me too but I really do appreciate your company, I just didn't know what to think at that point y'know?

Jasper  
Yeah, Tony I get it.

Jasper  
I'm not mad or upset by the way.

Jasper  
I don't think I could be.

Jasper  
And I enjoy your company too.

Jasper  
Maybe we could enjoy each others company sometime this week?

Anthony panicked slightly. Did Jasper mean a date? Was he ready for that? 

Tony  
That's gay

Tony cringed as soon as he wrote it.

Jasper  
It doesn't have to be yet.

Jasper  
We could just hang out. We should probably talk about... My family.

Yet? He's saying 'yet'? Tony took a moment to wonder if that should even be legal.

Just as Tony was about to type out a message again, Edward interrupted his thoughts from the front seat.

"Tony, buckle up." His voice sounded sinister, and Anthony decided rather than become a vampire's dinner, he'd just put on his damn seatbelt.

"Eddie, what is it? Did something happen to Bella?"

"Some group of guys are thinking some not so nice things about her right now my guess is she's not safe where she is." Edward growled, his eyes glaring at the road.

"Step on the fucking gas." Anthony demanded, to which Edward agreed and picked up the pace.

In the moments hanging out with Edward, Tony had deemed him worthy of his sister's companionship and didn't mind so much that Edward was getting protective. Heck, so was Tony.

Soon enough, the silver Volvo revved into a practically abandoned parking lot and shined its headlights on Bella, surrounded by the frat boys from earlier who were now very much drunk.

Tony went to unbuckle and get out, ready to whip some of those boys across the face with his oxygen tank.

Edward had other plans and locked his car doors.

"C'mon, man." Tony whined, glaring at the boys standing around the hood.

"Just keep your angry chihuahua ass in the car, I'll take care of it."

"Don't kill anyone, Eddie." Tony reminded. "And don't get blood on your clothes, Bella still hasn't eaten so we need to go to that restaurant."

Edward turned and gave him an amused smile.

"I'll see what I can do." Then he got out of the car, and Bella got in to the passenger seat.

"Hey loser. Did they touch you? Do I need to kick someone-"

"I'm fine, Tony. Really, I'm good." Isabella assured, staring at Edward who was glaring at the boys as he got back in the car.

Dude rev into their knees, really freak them out. Tony thought, knowing Edward could hear it.

Edward did, pulling up into their legs and making them back up.

After that, Tony pretty much forgot about the text Jasper had sent him.


	20. NINETEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. what are you thinking ?

— ANTHONY WAS RATHER GLAD HE'D TAKEN EDWARD'S ORDER TO HEART AND PUT ON HIS SEAT BELT. Especially when the Cullen whipped the car into ongoing traffic. Tony got jostled around quite a bit, but nothing too bad.

"I should go back, and rip those guys' heads off." Edward growled, glaring at the road.

Isabella was turned in her seat to look at him, her eyes widening in shock as she tried to come up with something to say.

"Uh, no, you shouldn't." She stated as if it should be obvious.

But if you do, Tony thought, he was beginning to understand how Edward's mind reading worked, how's about we take the stupid child lock off my doors and I pop out just to strangle them with my tubing?

Edward glanced at him in the rear view mirror and let out a coughed laugh when he saw Tony adjusting his nasal prongs with a smirk.

Deciding to move on from that so Bella wouldn't get too suspicious, Edward turned his attention to the road.

"You don't know the vile, repulsive things they were thinking." Edward scowled.

"And you do?" Bella asked.

Anthony figured now was the time to speak up, "With people like that, it's not hard to guess."

Edward looked at Tony through the rear view mirror yet again, a moment of understanding coming between them. Bella shouldn't know about this yet.

"Can you talk about something else? Distract me so I won't turn around." The Cullen asked.

Tony knew in that moment there was no time for jokes. Edward had explained how difficult self control could be for a vampire and desperately didn't want Bella, or himself for that matter, to see what a vampire without discipline was really like.

Anthony leaned forward and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. The bronze haired boy sent him a grateful look.

"Just- you should put your seat belt on." Isabella pointed out, noticing the lack of material on his chest when she glanced at Tony's hand.

Edward laughed and Bella looked confused.

"Bells, maybe you should put your seatbelt on." Tony chuckled.

Edward proceeded to pass other cars on the road as fast as was legal, obviously trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and those disgusting frat boys.

— ISABELLA HAD LET EDWARD KNOW WHICH RESTAURANT THEY WERE PLANNING ON GOING TO, once the Cullen had calmed down and slowed to a regular driving pace.

They arrived in little to no time, though Anthony was sure they were too late to meet with Angela and Jessica.

When they pulled into their parking space, Edward got out and opened the door for Tony since it was still locked and helped get his oxygen tank out onto the pavement.

Anthony thanked Edward in his head, which received a nod, then grabbed the tank from him and they stepped after Bella.

Isabella was standing with Angela and Jessica who were just leaving the restaurant.

"Where were you? We left you messages." Angela asked, obviously worrying for Bella's safety. "We would have messaged Tony too, but we don't have his number."

"Yeah, and we waited, but we were, like, starving."

Edward appeared at Bella's side with Tony fast behind.

"Um, I'm sorry, I kept them from dinner. We ran into each other and got talking, y'know?" Edward said, saving the moment.

"Yeah."

"No... we totally understand. I mean, that happens, right?" Jessica laughed. "Yeah, we were just leaving." She stated, hinting for Tony and Bella to join them. "So, um... Tony, Bella if you wanna...?"

Edward spoke up again, "I think I should make sure they get something to eat." He sent a stern look to Tony who sighed and nodded, knowing it was what he needed. "If you'd like." He then turned to Bella. "I'll drive you home myself."

"Yeah," The brunette woman agreed. "Yeah, we should eat something."

Jessica and Angela began backing away from the trio, saying their farewells.

Once they'd pretty much gone, Edward turned and grabbed Tony's oxygen tank from him and lifted it up the stairs of the restaurant as they walked. Tony was appreciative, his shoulder always got sore when he did it himself.

Edward opened the door for the Swans and they all quickly tried to find a table.

Bella and Edward sat across from each other while Tony sat on another end, he tried to tuck his oxygen tank as far into his chair or under the table as possible, but it was too clunky and got in the way of a lot of people as they walked by.

Anthony could tell some people were annoyed with him but he could also see Edward glaring at them every so often which told him two things: 1- people were probably cursing him in their minds. 2- he was so lucky to have a family like the Cullens by his side.

Once they'd gotten ordering out of the way, it became rather awkward.

The whole time, Anthony and Edward had been having silent conversations. Tony would think of a question and Edward would subtly tap his fingers against the table, once for yes, twice for no.

Tony was beginning to get the hang of it.

Are there other vampires out there?

One tap, yes.

Are they all like you, then? You said you and your family were vegetarians.

Two taps, no.

D'you think that's what's been causing the— chicken.

Edward glanced confusedly at the boy, only to see he'd distractedly looked at another table and saw one of the dishes they had.

It was difficult to communicate by thinking when his mind could be so easily distracted.

Edward gained his attention again and he started over.

Right- do you think other vampires is what's been causing the attacks?

Tony stared at Edward's hand, but it don't move.

You're not sure? Is that why you're not tapping?

One tap, yes.

So you don't know them?

Two taps, no.

Their conversation was interrupted by their waitress bringing the Swan's their food.

"Alright, one mushroom ravioli and one cotoletta." She placed their meals in front of them, which they thanked her for, before turning to Edward. "So are you sure there isn't anything I can get for you?"

"No, no, thank you." Edward declined politely. He'd told Tony that any food literally tasted like dirt to him and since he didn't have a functioning digestive system, vampires had to find another way to get it out of their bodies.

Tony could take a guess at what he meant.

The waitress left their table to serve someone else, which brought upon the awkward atmosphere again as Bella ate and Tony tried to stomach his food.

"You're really not gonna eat?" Bella asked.

"He's not hungry." Tony excused, rather quickly.

Bella just hummed and nodded, busying herself with her food.

"Hey man, watch it!" Yet another person tripped over Tony's oxygen tank.

The Swan bowed his head and mumbled a quick 'sorry' as he tried to shove his oxygen tank closer to his chair.

With somewhere like the Carver Cafe it didn't matter that his tank was sat on the floor because most of the time he had the seat by the window where no one was walking anyway, but in an open area like this people are bound to get annoyed.

The other two at the table glared as the guy walked away and Edward leaned over to help tuck the oxygen tank under the table, but it was no use 

As if something had triggered Bella's reaction, she snapped suddenly.

"You gotta give me some answers." She told Edward.

Edward took the moment to mock her slightly.

"Yes, no. To get to the other side. Uh, 1.772453-" He began.

"I don't wanna know the square root of pi." Bells interrupted.

"You knew that?"

Again, someone tripped on the oxygen tank.

"What the hell?" The woman glared at Tony.

'Sorry' he muttered again.

The woman just huffed and stuck up her nose, walking away.

Maybe if you looked where you were walking, shit like that wouldn't happen.

Edward smiled fondly at Anthony but was somewhat upset that he was being treated like that.

Then a new waitress approached them, tapping Anthony on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She smiled sadly.

Tony wanted to stand up and yell at her, but he knew it wasn't her fault.

"Yeah, uh, can I just get this to go please?" He asked.

"Of course." The waitress disappeared as Anthony stood up and pulled out money to pay for his meal.

"Y'know what- we can just leave." Bella began to offer, getting up from her chair.

"No, Bells. Finish eating. I'll be waiting for you in the car, yeah?" Anthony nodded and the waitress brought back a to go container and plastic cutlery.

As Isabella lowered herself to her seat again, Edward handed Anthony the keys to his Volvo.

"Don't worry about eating in the car, if you make a mess I'll just clean it up later."

"Alright Mr Clean." Tony saluted as he closed the container with his food now in it and left the restaurant.

Sliding back into the car, he didn't bother locking the doors again since he knew Edward and Bella wouldn't be long.

He finished off his cotoletta and closed the cutlery into the container before placing it on the floor of the Volvo next to his tank.

Then he took off his sweater to use as a makeshift pillow, and grabbed Edward's blanket as he laid down in the back seat.

The only light in the car came from street lamps and the lit restaurant, which reflected in the droplets of water left on the windows of the car.

Tony turned to stare at the back of the driver's seat and for a moment, his eyes traveled to the oxygen tank nearer to his feet.

And he glared at it.

— WHEN EDWARD AND BELLA GOT BACK IN THE CAR, Anthony was already asleep. He'd been sleep deprived as of late, even his sister had noticed his lack of energy, so they let him be and Edward simply started the car back up with the keys he found on the ground next to Tony's food container and oxygen tank.

The ride back into Forks could be described as tense considering Edward and Isabella's previous conversation and that Tony wasn't awake to break the ice.

"Okay, I think I'm warm enough now." Bells has stated as she went to turn down the heat.

"Leave it." Edward demanded, glancing at Tony's sleeping face in the rear view mirror. "He seems cold."

After a few more minutes, Tony finally woke to red and blue lights invading his eye sight.

"Are we getting pulled over?" Anthony asked groggily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

When he looked around with solid vision he realized they were at the Forks' police station, and there were ambulances and police cruisers parked outside with the lights on.

"No, something happened." Bella said as she unbuckled. "Dad's still here." She got out of the car and rushed forward while Tony rushed to sit up and pull his sweater back on.

Once he was situated and out of the car, he made it to Bella and Edward as fast as possible, also noticing Carlisle Cullen.

"Waylon Forge was found in a boat out near his place." Dr Cullen explained. "I just examined the body."

Edward shared an alarmed look with Tony, which Carlisle saw and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Edward noticed and got Carlisle's attention, nodding slightly to show that Tony could be trusted enough not to blab their secret.

"He died? How?" Bella asked.

"Animal attack." Carlisle lied, glancing at Anthony and Edward.

"Was it the same thing that got the security guard down in Mason?" Bella pressed.

Anthony grabbed his sister by the shoulder.

"Probably, but thats not the point right now." He said.

"What do you mean?" Bella looked at Anthony.

"I mean, Waylon was dad's friend. We should get inside. See ya later Dr Cullen. I'll see you at school Eddie." Tony nodded to the other men as he lead his sister into the police station in search of their father.

It was going to be a long night.


	21. TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. a funny thing !

— ONCE THEY'D GOTTEN HOME BELLA IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEARED INTO HER ROOM. Anthony knew what she was doing. She was going to find out what the Cullens were.

As much as he wanted to go with her and play dumb, he knew Charlie was far more vulnerable than her right now.

Tony found his father sitting on the front porch with a beer in one hand.

"Hey, Dad." The younger male Swan greeted as he sat next to his father.

Charlie only nodded to acknowledge Tony's presence, then took another swig of beer before passing it to Tony.

There was only a little left in the bottle, so Anthony finished it off and sat the empty glass down next to his foot.

It was silent. Not necessarily awkward as one would think. It was almost serene. The two, father and son, stared out into the dark. The ever present rain had let up and hung in the air as if waiting to cry for another lost soul. It was slightly foggy, and the street lights could only just be seen, dyeing the fog a light gold colour.

Charlie sighed as Anthony leaned into his side, offering some sort of comfort.

"It's a funny thing, isn't it?" Charlie spoke, his voice was a bit hollow as there were nearly no other noises surrounding them accept for the hum of Tony's oxygen tank.

"It is." Anthony agreed. He knew exactly what Charlie was talking about.

Life, it's a funny thing.

"I think," Tony began again, glancing at Charlie's side profile. "With this planet being so big, there are so many people we haven't met. We may pass by them on the street or share a glance and smile at a store, but the truth is we can't know everyone. Some people don't even put in the effort." Anthony looked down at his shoes as he dug the heel into the step below him.

"You should just be glad... Glad that you had the chance to know him at all. It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." Tony finished, placing his hand and chin on his father's shoulder.

Charlie let out a breath and put his own hand over Tony's.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighed.

It was quiet for another moment.

"C'mon, I've got something to show you." Charlie stood and helped Anthony up. Tony looked at him confusedly, but allowed Charlie to lead him around the side of the house until they were face to face with the door of the garage.

They had never used the garage, it was too small for any of the family's cars. Not even Charlie's police cruiser would fit through the green painted door.

For the longest time it had just been forgotten storage space.

"So as you know, Bella's truck won't fit in here, and neither will my car." Charlie stated as he pat a hand against the door, making the metal rumble and vibrate with noise.

"Yeah, Dad, you park on the grass."

Charlie chuckled lightly.

"Hey, it rains a lot. Parking outside gives my car a free wash." He defended.

Tony rolled his eyes lightheartedly.

"That's not what I was talking about. We have a perfectly usable driveway and yet you decide to tear up the lawn." He crossed his arms with a mockingly accusing look on his face.

"You got me there." Charlie nodded. "Anyway, we don't use the garage so I thought..." Charlie trailed off and leaned down to open the door.

The door slid up and when Charlie flipped on the lights, it revealed a well lit art studio.

Despite the door of the garage being small, the inside went beneath almost half the house so it was quite a large space.

Tony stepped into the middle of the room and looked around in awe. There were nails on the walls to hang canvases, there was a desk in the corner with stacks of packaged paper, there was a whole shelf with all his spare blank canvases along with a built in sink and all his painting materials organized neatly in drawers and jars. 

Next to it was his old wooden easel, the one that he got second hand when he was young and too short to actually reach high enough to paint. There were splotches of acrylic all over it from when he desperately needed to test a colour and there were a few spots where Bella had practiced her writing by scribbling out the lyrics of whatever Anthony had been listening to that day.

When he approached it, he saw the permanent marker lyrics of a Queen song that he hadn't heard in years. Bohemian Rhapsody.

Turning again, he noticed his CD shelf next to the drawing desk and a little cheap radio sat atop it.

Anthony walked over and looked through his CDs before finding his Queen albums.

Popping the CD in and skipping the tracks, a moment later and the soft beginning melody of Bohemian Rhapsody entered the room.

Finally, Tony turned to Charlie who had stood back and watched his son get used to the area.

"Why did you do this? How long do you think I'm gonna have in here?" He muttered, his voice almost drowned out by the music as the beat got louder.

"Bella told me you'd started doing your art again. I remember how much you loved your art so I figured I'd dust off all your old things and set them up down here." Charlie said.

Tony's eyes watered as he walked up to Charlie and stood in front if him.

Didn't mean to make you cry  
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow  
carry on, carry on

"You'd waste your time for me when I may not even have the time to appreciate it? Why can't you just hate me? It'd be easier for you! You wouldn't feel as bad, you- you wouldn't care as much when I leave!" Anthony sobbed and sniffled.

Too late, my time has come  
Sends shivers down my spine  
Body's aching all the time  
Goodbye everybody, I've got to go

Charlie just looked down at Tony, an almost bittersweet smile on his face.

"It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." The man whispered, reciting Tony from earlier.

Then they wrapped each other in a hug, Charlie as if he was protecting Anthony from everything and Anthony, with his face in his father's chest hiding from the world.

Mama ooh  
I don't wanna die  
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

— WHEN ANTHONY AND CHARLIE HAD GONE BACK INSIDE, it was late. Charlie said his good nights and fled to his room to sleep off the day's events.

Anthony went upstairs as quietly as he could while lugging a heavy metal tank and once he did he got everything prepared so he could go to bed.

He brushed his teeth, changed into more comfortable clothes, switched out his tank for his oxygen concentrator, then he got into bed and grabbed his phone.

He saw a few messages, some from Liv and Danny just updating him on what's going on, he replied to those first with news of his own though he didn't expect a response at this time. Then he spotted a few messages from Jasper.

Jasper  
Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, we only have to hang out if you want to.

Jasper  
We really don't have to

Jasper  
But I'd like to get to know you more if that's okay?

Tony  
Lets hang out at my place after school tomorrow?

Tony  
Unless you want me to meet your vampire parents

Jasper  
Maybe not yet. Your place sounds good

Tony  
Didn't expect you to be up at this time

Jasper  
We don't sleep

Tony  
Ahh

Tony  
Do you miss sleeping?

Tony  
I do

Jasper  
Sometimes I wish I could drift off, yeah

Jasper  
Why can't you sleep?

Tony  
Not sure

Tony  
Though I'm thinking it's something to do with my cancer.

Jasper  
This may sound weird but- do you want me to come over? I can make you fall asleep

Tony  
That sounded alarmingly sexual

Jasper  
No!! I mean- that's not what I meant

Anthony chuckled at Jasper's mess up, though he was curious what the vampire meant.

He didn't have time to think about it before his phone was getting a call.

Tony saw the ID was Jasper, and answered the phone.

Raising it up to his ear, he spoke.

"Warning: I'm a lot more confident when not looking at you face to face and all cognitive thinking has gone out the window thanks to sleep deprivation so- hey good lookin'" Tony sang, though it was a complete lie. The Swan boy just hoped if he seemed a bit more animated that Jasper wouldn't be able to tell he'd been crying only an hour before.

He heard Jasper laugh though the receiver.

"Hey darlin'"

Tony wanted to punch something. How dare Jasper have the right to sound that good with his stupid, overrated, beautiful southern accent.

"Darlin' sounds so gay." Anthony pointed as he laid back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling.

"You are gay." Jasper retaliated.

Tony shrugged, "Carry on."

"As I was saying before, I could help you sleep? I'm not sure if Edward explained it all to you but I sort of have an ability-" 

Tony interrupted as he sat up slightly.

"He mentioned his and Alice's abilities but he never said anything about you." Anthony informed, pulling his blankets up to his chest.

"Well- I'm an empath. I can feel and manipulate other people's emotions in a way."

"You asshole." Tony spoke.

"Oh so goodbye to pet names, hmm?"

"Sorry sweetums but you are a grade A asshole. You're the reason my emotions have been so out of wack when I'm at school! I thought I was becoming bipolar." Anthony raised his voice slightly, but he didn't want to wake anyone in the house.

"I know, I could feel your confusion." Jasper chuckled.

"Ooooh I could slap you right now or kiss you for calming me down before I exploded." Tony spoke, remembering that first day in school when he nearly snapped at the class.

"Can I choose?"

"Don't push it boo."

It was quiet for a moment on both ends.

"So yeah, I could run over and calm you down so you can sleep?" Jasper spoke up again.

"As much as I'd love to see you, calming me down so I can sleep will probably cause problems with my chest and whatever. I don't think we should risk it. Thank you for the offer though." Anthony explained. The more he spoke with Jasper over the phone the more he started to realize that the Hale probably knew about Tony's crush.

He was a vampire with super hearing and the ability to feel emotions, if Jasper didn't know by now, he would have to be the stupidest vampire on the planet.

"Jasper?" Tony asked.

Jasper hummed in response.

"Are you gay?"

He could hear Jasper sigh through the receiver.

"Maybe I should explain that in person." 

"You think?"

"Yeah..."

It was quiet for another moment.

"D'you think, in the mean time, we could just talk? I like the sound of your voice." Anthony asked.

Jasper responded in agreement.

"Yeah, I like the sound of your voice too."

So they chatted back and forth as seconds became minutes and minutes became hours. Soon enough it was nearly two in the morning and neither of them had gotten off the phone.

Tony's voice became sluggish and tired as the night bled into day. Jasper tried to say goodbye and make Anthony hang up.

"I think you need some rest, we can talk later."

"Nonsense, I wanna talk now." Anthony's voice was muffled as he nuzzled into his pillow.

Jasper laughed slightly.

"Go to bed, Tony."

"Talk later?" Anthony asked, giving up on arguing.

"Talk later." Jasper confirmed.

Then, all Jasper heard was the beeping that signified the call had been terminated.


	22. TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. so not emotionally ready !

— ANTHONY COULDN'T DENY BEING TIRED IN THE MORNING, because he most definitely was. Though, as he brushed his teeth and squinted in the light of the bathroom, he reminded himself that it was his own fault and the circles under his eyes were a simple repercussion.

When Bella joined him, grabbing her toothbrush with messy hair, Tony couldn't help but notice the way her hands shook as she went through with her morning routine.

No doubt she'd found out what the Cullens were.

Tony wanted to say something, maybe reassure her that the Cullens weren't as bad as she thought. But she never mentioned it to him, so he didn't bother and looked the other way when she dropped her toothbrush in the sink.

Maybe it'd sound better coming from a Cullen anyway.

Though he was slightly upset that Isabella wasn't sharing what she'd found. Especially with him.

Though in the back of his mind he knew she was going to confront Edward instead.

Anthony desperately wished he could hate Edward for getting so close to Bella, but after spending so many lunches with the boy it was like he couldn't find it in himself. 

They respected each other in a way, and Tony mulled over that thought as he ate his cereal and watched Isabella busy herself with cleaning dishes that had been left in the sink.

There was a slight mist over Forks after it had rained the overnight. It gave the area a calm and slightly creepy atmosphere.

Then Tony looked out the window into the dampened world. It was all greens and blacks and muddy browns. As it always was.

Until a new colour came into his line of sight, cherry red. It pulled up in front of the house and stopped.

Anthony, having been finished his cereal, took the bowl and put it in the sink before grabbing his school bag and rushing to put on his shoes and get out the front door.

Once his vision wasn't being obstructed by the fog covered window, as he closed the front door behind him the cherry red blob became Rosalie's convertible.

When Tony approached it, two women got out of the car.

"Hey Tony!" Alice greeted as she rushed to hop out and greet her best friend with a tight hug.

"Hey there, Angel." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her momentarily before also greeting Rosalie, who acknowledged him with a smile and tilt of her head.

"D'you wanna ride with Rosalie and I today?" Alice asked as she pulled away from the hug, gesturing to the convertible.

"I mean-" Tony began, turning back to the house and seeing his sister exiting from the front door. "Hey, Bells!"

Isabella turned and noticed the Cullen girls, her eyes widening in alarm.

Anthony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They may be vampires but you couldn't immediately assume they were dangerous. Not all creatures could be perceived as threats. Even the monster under the bed could become your friend. This seemed to be a lesson Isabella had yet to learn.

"Are you okay if I go with them?" Anthony asked, jerking his head in the Cullen's direction.

Bella nodded after a moment of thought and simply called out for him to stay safe.

They'd probably see each other in a few minutes anyways, even if it was just passing by in the parking lot.

So Tony climbed into the back seat and slid his oxygen tank up next to him. It was a little awkward since Rosalie had the hood of the convertible up, obviously to avoid the rain that would likely fall later in the day. But the girls and him made it work.

He probably could have gotten into the passenger seat. Alice would gladly sit in the back for him. Though he had more room in the back anyway.

The ride was nice. They all chatted like old friends and when they got to school, Tony only had the chance to glance at Jasper in the parking lot before he was being tugged away to art class.

Though, once art class was over and he and Alice parted ways, Anthony found Jasper at their seat in history.

"Hey are we still on for today, after school?" Tony asked as he sat in his chair and sat his backpack on the floor next to him.

Jasper looked up from his phone with a smile.

"Of course, darlin'." 

Anthony groaned and shoved his face in his hands. He could hear Jasper's laugh as he did this.

Then he noticed his phone buzz in his pocket and when he looked down there was a text from an unknown number.

Unknown  
Hey man tell Jasper to turn his phone back on

Tony  
And uh who this be?

Unknown  
It's your handsomest future brother in-law

Tony  
Lmao gay marriage is not legal my friend

Tony  
Though I'm guessing this is either Edward or Emmett

Tony  
If it's Edward- I may or may not kill you for implying marriage with my sister

Tony  
She is so not emotionally ready for that shit

Unknown  
It's Emily

Unknown  
Emily

Unknown  
E m m e t t

Tony  
Don't worry, Emily I figured it was you ;)

Anthony looked up and noticed class still hadn't started and turned to Jasper who was looking through some of his books.

"Emmett wants you to text him back." Tony informed. "For what reason, I have no idea."

Jasper sighed, "He wants me to head home during my free period and grab his biology textbook because he forgot it. I already told him to just get it during lunch because I didn't want to leave you by yourself."

Tony just shook his head.

"I'll be fine, I can just chill in the medical building or something." He assured.

"You sure?" Jasper checked, to which Anthony nodded in response before pulling out his phone again.

Tony  
Yo Emily, I've convinced Jasper to go get your biology textbook thank me by giving me food

Emmett  
You're the best

Emmett  
I'll literally buy you a pudding or something from the cafeteria I'm so thankful because I did not wanna drive all the way home

Tony  
It takes like 10 minutes to drive anywhere in this town, lazy ass

Tony  
Also how did you get my number?

Emmett  
Alice shared it with us in case of an emergency or something?? Edward and Rose have it too

Tony  
I see

Tony  
Anyway- class is starting so get to work Emily I shall see you in lunch and I shall expect a pudding

Emmett  
Chocolate or vanilla?

Tony  
What do you think :/

Then, Tony didn't see Emmett's response as he had already put his phone back in his sweater pocket.

— WHEN HISTORY WAS FINALLY OVER, Anthony and Jasper said their farewells and parted ways. Jasper, to Emmett's Jeep after collecting the keys from the other boy's locker and Tony, to the medical building.

When Anthony entered the building, he was greeted by a blast of cold air and a somewhat familiar school nurse.

"Hello Anthony! Here for your regular replacement I presume?" Asked the accented voice of Reyes Jaylin.

"Yeah." Tony smiled. "Hey Reyes."

"Right- could you sit here for a moment?" Reyes asked as he gestured to one of the seats in the room before walking off somewhere.

Anthony was a bit confused as to why the man hadn't taken the oxygen tank with him. Or why he disappeared in the wrong direction.

Tony thought over this as he awkwardly removed his tubing.

He didn't have to worry long though, as Reyes came back with a brown paper bag in hand.

Without an explanation, Reyes handed the bag to Anthony and then grabbed the oxygen tank to replace it.

Tony watched as Reyes walked away before opening the brown paper bag and seeing close to half a dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Reyes returned a few minutes later.

"Thank you." Anthony spoke. "For these." He held up the bag.

The older man shook his head with a kind smile.

"Don't worry about it." He waved off as he kneeled on the floor and helped re situate Tony's oxygen tank. "I like baking." Reyes shrugged before looking up into Anthony's eyes as the boy folded the tubing behind his ears again.

Reyes took quick notice of the paleness and dark circles and the slightly ragged breathing and the mask that Tony was putting on, pretending to be in better condition than he was.

"Would you mind if we did a quick check up? I've been reading a lot about your condition and I think maybe I could help?" Reyes asked hopefully.

Tony laughed lightly. 

"Help with what? This is end of life oxygen and I'm surviving on borrowed time." Anthony said seriously. "There's not much else you can do."

Reyes nodded slightly with a sad gleam in his brown eyes.

"Maybe I can make the transition easier." He offered. "Between life and death, that is."

Reyes knew that was a lie. Hell, even Tony knew the real reason Reyes wanted to help was so Anthony could last longer.

But instead of arguing, Tony straightened in his seat and took off his tubing again along with taking off his fluffy sweater. Reyes took this as agreement to his offer, and stood up to grab his stethoscope.

Once Reyes was prepared, he pulled up the back of Anthony's shirt. The stethoscope was cold against his skin and when Tony breathed in, he struggled not to cough heavily. He hated having to rely on his own lungs.

It only took seconds for Reyes to sigh and lower Tony's shirt, slinging the stethoscope around his neck.

"Just- put your tubing back on." The man sounded disheartened as he grabbed a chair to sit opposite the Swan.

Anthony didn't waste time putting his sweater and tubing back.

"So- if you don't mind me asking, does cancer run in your family?" Reyes asked.

"Nah." Anthony shook his head and pulled a cookie out of the paper bag.

"Then how does someone like you end up with something like lung cancer? It only occurs randomly in like- 35% of cases." Reyes asked curiously.

"Well- my parents aren't really together anymore," Anthony began. "And when my mum left my dad she took my sister and I with her... right now she's married to this guy named Phil. He's alright I guess. Kind of an ass though." Tony trailed off and bit into his cookie, swallowing the bite before continuing.

"Besides the point, the point is my mom had a few boyfriends before deciding to settle down with Phil and one of them smoked with us in the house so I'm that lucky one that got lung cancer by secondhand smoking."

Reyes looked crestfallen. Most likely in the idea that it wasn't even Tony's fault.

"But no one else in your family has lung cancer?"

"Well it was two parts secondhand smoke and one part randomness so it was just me." Anthony nodded. "It's like winning the lottery isn't it? A one in a hundred and seventy-five million chance and it just so happens that it was me." He had a bitter edge in his voice, which in Reyes' eyes was understandable. If anyone was to blame, it was Renée's ex boyfriend.

"I'm sorry." Reyes muttered, shaking his head. "You don't deserve that."

Anthony shrugged.

"I'd rather it be me than Bella." He stated. "At least I don't have to worry about that guy anymore. As soon as he found out I had lung cancer he was out of there at warp speed." 

It was awkwardly silent between them for a moment before Tony spoke up again.

"These cookies are really good, by the way."

"Thanks, it's my mum's recipe." Reyes sighed.

Anthony nodded and looked down at his shoes, clicking the rubber toes together and making a hollow sound.

"Could we exchange numbers? I'd like to be able to- keep an eye on you? If you'd let me?" The Englishman asked, bringing Tony's attention off his shoes.

"Are you sure you want that? I try not to make to many attachments unless necessary right now." 

"I'm sure." Reyes nodded.

Anthony shrugged and pulled out his phone.

"Well, it'll be my funeral."


	23. TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. what i want to see !

— HANGING OUT WITH REYES WAS SURPRISINGLY NICE, Anthony would admit. Every time the man spoke Tony was reminded of his friend back in Arizona.

Danny would worry over him constantly and just like with Daniel, Reyes and Anthony had an instant connection.

He saw that same glimmer in their eyes and kind edge in their accented voice.

Danny's accent might have been washed down slightly after years of staying in America, but the English in him was still there.

Spending time with Reyes made Tony a little home sick if he was being honest.

It'd be nice to see Danny again, for real and not just through a fuzzy computer screen. He missed Liv too, for that matter.

Though now he had to settle with chatting about animals and English traffic and why snow cones are a thing- because who had ever looked at coloured snow and thought eating it was a good idea.

It wasn't like Reyes had anything better to do. Being a school nurse wasn't quite as exciting as being in a real hospital.

Every once in a while Reyes would add a little question about Anthony's physical and mental state, gaining a deeper understanding of where Tony was at in his cancer.

He'd deemed so far, that Anthony needed more sleep and a better appetite. But it wasn't like Tony didn't already know this.

Their conversations were only halted when Jasper came in through the door with a text book in hand and his other in his pant's pocket.

"Hey Jazz." Anthony greeted.

Jasper nodded in hello and glanced at Reyes in confusion. Though for a moment the Cullen smiled, as he could feel Reyes' emotions. Concern, interest, optimism, admiration.

The blond could already tell Reyes wanted to help Anthony, so he decided to ignore the final mix of emotion he could sense as he and the Englishman locked eyes. Fear, surprise, anticipation.

"I-I should um- I should get back to work." Reyes stood up like lightening and went to move the chair back to its spot.

"Oh! Are you sure?" Anthony was sort of enjoying their chat.

"Yeah- I should- I should uh- get to doing... stuff." Reyes pointed behind him, unknowingly pointing at a wall.

Reyes stole a quick glance back up at Jasper before getting slightly more nervous.

This raised a bit of a red flag and despite the brilliant colour of said flag, Anthony still hadn't noticed how weird his new friend was acting.

But Jasper certainly had.

"Though um- if you have any problems feel free to give me a call, I might be able to help? I read uh- I read that lung cancer patients can experience quite a few problems in their sleep so I- I-" He looked disheartened, looking at the floor. "I'm not sure how I could help with that but... I don't know- just- just do what you want." Reyes finished his sentence awkwardly before rushing away and out of sight.

Anthony shrugged it off as Reyes being shy and turned to the beautiful vampire that had stepped up next to him, though Jasper was still staring of in the direction Reyes went.

"Got Emmett's book?" Tony asked as he grabbed his things.

Jasper held up the biology textbook like a skull in a Shakespeare play, which made Tony chuckle. The blond vampire turned to see the Swan smile slightly while he tugged the handle of his oxygen tank up.

Jasper handed Anthony the textbook, which he took. Then Jasper leaned down and picked up Tony's oxygen tank with no problem.

"Y'know the strength thing? That's just unfair." Tony quipped.

"Whatever you say, darlin'"

— THE LUNCH BELL HAD RUNG ALMOST AS SOON AS THEY GOT OUTSIDE. Neither boy said much as they changed direction to the cafeteria. They didn't have to. Just enjoying each other's company was enough for them.

Though, the weather was rather cold, so they tried to get inside as soon as possible. 

It became more and more noticeable for Anthony that freezing weather was making him feel worse. The ever present pain in his chest would tighten and leave him in quiet agony.

It just really sucked that he couldn't enjoy his favourite weather anymore because of something he couldn't control.

When they got into the cafeteria, Jasper set the oxygen tank back on the floor as Tony glanced around the room.

He noticed his sister wasn't there, and when he looked at the Cullen's table he realized that Edward was also MIA.

Tony reminded himself that he trusted Edward enough not to kill his sister, and followed Jasper to the table.

It's crazy, normally Anthony would worry about a guy's intentions with his sister in quite a different way. 

What had his life come to?

Tony seemed to be on autopilot as he weaved between chairs and tables. He realized he also trusted Jasper enough to not let him run into things, which is a great thing to know.

Finally, they sat in their seats and almost immediately Emmett spoke up.

"You got my book?" He asked hopefully.

Jasper grabbed it and slid the textbook across the table to his foster brother.

"Awe thanks man." Emmett thanked Jasper before turning to Anthony and pointing. "You are one beautiful human being." Emmett reached over the table to high five Tony and hand him a chocolate pudding cup with a cheap white plastic spoon.

"And you are one sexy... being." Tony picked up the spoon and used it to point back at Emmet.

The Cullens chuckled lightly at Anthony's small disguised vampire quip.

— SCHOOL WAS AS BORING AS IT ALWAYS WAS, at least in Anthony's eyes. People in the halls pointing and whispering when he wrapped an arm around Alice Cullen's shoulders and smirked at Rosalie's chuckles after he'd told a joke. The teachers as usual, ignoring him when they handed out homework. Tony staring at Jasper's profile in Biology and turning to playfully glare every time Alice kicked the back of his chair, raising her eyebrows and giggling.

Though the day was definitely more bearable with the Cullens at his side.

By the end of the day, Jasper and Anthony stepped out of the library and collected Alice on their way to the parking lot.

Jasper had already asked Emmett if they could borrow his Jeep, which he agreed to. So they boys hugged Alice and said their goodbyes.

"You could come too, if you want?" Jasper offered. Alice shook her head with a grin.

"I have stuff to get done. Have fun you two!" She said. Jasper shrugged and got into the driver's seat.

Alice threw a cheeky wink at Anthony who laughed and shook his head at her as he too hopped into the vehicle.

Jasper waited for Tony to send out a text to Bella, who he hadn't seen since morning.

Tony  
So I'm guessing you're still with Edward

Tony  
You haven't been at school which is a little disappointing but I get it I guess

Tony  
Just don't do anything I wouldn't do

Tony  
And definitely don't do anything I would do

Tony  
You're not replying even when I made a sex joke this is blasphemy

Tony  
K well Jasper and I are gonna hang out for a while

Tony  
At home

Tony  
Alone

Tony  
Why aren't you replying, my gayness is panicking help me

Tony  
Alright fine I'll see you later you little shit

Anthony couldn't deny that he was a bit worried for Bella's well-being and he desperately hoped that his trust in Edward wasn't misplaced.

Jasper already seemed to know the route to get to the Swan residence like the back of his hand, he probably could have had his eyes closed and they still would have gotten to the house without ruining Emmett's Jeep Rubicon.

As predicted, Charlie's police cruiser wasn't parked on the lawn as it normally was and of course Bella's truck was no where to be seen.

Tony got out and lead Jasper to the garage, opening the green sliding door and closing it once they'd both gotten in.

He watched Jasper take a look around for a moment before Tony shuffled to his easel and pulled it out.

"You wouldn't mind if I painted while we hung out would you?" Tony pointed.

Jasper shook his head 'no', his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Anthony knew the real reason behind this little hang out was so they could talk about... what exactly was going on.

Though he also knew stuff like that could take time getting out, so he just pulled paintbrushes and paints out of their hiding places.

"Feel free to touch anything." Tony gestured around the room with the end of his paintbrush.

He could hear Jasper move to the desk, fiddling with the CDs that were there.

"You have interesting taste." He finally spoke.

Anthony didn't turn around, but shrugged unenthusiastically.

"Some of them are music from when I was younger. I listened to a lot of Queen and AC/DC. Though I did adopt quite a lot of my music taste from the people in my life." He explained. "Now I just listen to whatever."

Jasper nodded and reached for the radio, playing the CD that was already in.

Anthony had changed out the CD the night before. Him and Charlie found some couches and chairs in the pile of stuff that had been in there for storage and they decided to move them around to fit in the garage properly.

One Queen CD couldn't last them the whole time, so when Jasper hit 'play' it began a song from Starsailor.

Heard you today.  
That isn't my name.  
You were fast asleep-

Jasper then looked at the desk and noticed a sketch book. Picking it up, he opened it to the first page and saw penned drawings. He kept turning the pages to see new pictures. A view of Arizona, a little cactus in a plant pot, and in between all of those he saw rough outlined people holding gay pride flags in a messily drawn crowd. There were scenic drawings, drawings of black rights protestors, an isle in a grocery store, a package of gummy bears, there were quotes and passages from books, lyrics from songs, moments in time that Anthony himself had seen or been apart of.

It was like his life laid out between pages.

Slowly the pictures went from cute little moments and feminist acts and messages like 'kindness is free, sprinkle that shit everywhere' to drawings of hospital beds and IV drips. There were drawings of a woman with her dark hair tied back, yelling at a tv. There was a picture of a man laying on his back, staring at the ceiling which was covered in tiny stars.

Drawings of oxygen masks and weight scales.

He saw a drawing of the woman and the man again, along with a rough sketch of Tony himself. They were all situated across the page, only showing the waist up.

Then as Jasper continued to flip to the next page he saw a drawing that gave him an unsettled feeling.

Three, separate but similar drawings on a page, laid out the same way the previous one had been.

The first one was a dark, demonic creature. It's eyes wide and unblinking, it's razor-like fingers were clawing at it's mouth where some sort of steel muzzle was clamped against its face. 

Under it was written 'anorexia nervosa'. It was in the same place that the woman had been on the previous page.

The next one, Jasper couldn't quite see it's face as it was curled up with its hands around its head. It looked like it was shaking slightly.

It was labeled 'depression & anxiety' and it was placed where the man was.

Then another, same wide, white eyes. It's long spindly fingers were clutching its chest and it's jaws were wretched open in a scream.

Under it was written 'lung cancer.' In the place of Tony.

When Jasper turned the page, all he saw were demonic representations of real life moments and more and more depictions of death. Until he came across a blank page. When he turned it he was greeted with another blank page.

It took two seconds to realize the rest of the book was empty.

"That's my old sketch book." Tony had turned from gathering paints and leaned against the shelf of canvases. "I drew what I saw and wanted to see in the world. I had it when I started living at the hospital. I drew the people I met, things we saw on the tv. Then it was announced that I was terminal. That all possible cures had been expelled and I would be predicted to die at the age of eighteen with nothing to show for it." Tony coughed slightly as if his own illness was reminding him it was there, as if he needed a reminder.

"Then what I wanted to see in the world became different and I stopped doing art." He finished.

Jasper looked up, gently closing the sketchbook.

"Why?" He asked simply.

There was a pregnant pause over the room.

"Because it was starting to scare me."


	24. TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. we need to talk !

— THE SILENCE BETWEEN THE TWO WAS ALMOST DEAFENING. Anthony had gathered all his painting things and set them up on a small table next to his easel. Jasper finished looking around and came to sit on the couch next to him.

Once a canvas had been set up, Anthony found himself staring at the blankness and wondering what sort of story he should paint on it.

Jasper got comfortable on the cheap material, shuffling around to lean back against the cushions before looking up and studying Tony's face.

"What is it?" He asked, searching through the emotions Anthony had.

Tony just sighed and pulled up his stool.

"I don't know what to paint." 

Jasper glanced at the Swan's old sketchbook, sitting closed on the desk.

"Paint what you want to see."

Anthony stared at Jasper with a pointed look.

"I can't- I can only- I can't paint-..." he sighed and composed his thoughts. "I can't paint what I want to see."

"And why not?" The blond asked.

It was quiet. The CD had ended a few minutes ago so the only other sound was rain pattering against the garage door.

"Because a few months ago all I wanted to see was nothing." Tony squeezed his eyes shut before turning away from Jasper's view and picking up his palette, covered in dry paint from when he was younger and didn't know how to properly wash his art supplies.

Jasper's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion, he felt Anthony's guilt creeping up on his subconscious and desperately wanted to help calm him down. Though he also felt if he did that, Tony would become more bottled up than before.

"What do you mean?" Jasper could barely get out his sentence before Tony had snapped.

"I mean I wanted to die, Jasper." He tried to sound angry, if only slightly, at the blond's prying, but he only sounded defeated. His throat closed up on his words and it sounded more like a sob than a bark of anger. "It was everyday- treatment after treatment each one leaving me breathless and in pain. I tried to stay optimistic when I got there, but then they said I had gone terminal?" Tony hung his head and clutched the side of the stool with his left hand, as if trying to keep himself on the ground.

"I had never wanted anything more than to just not exist." He muttered, his right hand clenched into a fist. With his eyes closed, the sudden cold against this hand came as a shock, but slowly he loosened his fist and intertwined his fingers with Jasper's. "Do you understand the amount of stress I had put on Bella?" Anthony continued, his voice becoming softer.

"My mom could hardly look at me, my dad has been dealing with my whining and bitching since I got here. I'm not their son anymore, I'm just a problem. A problem that they can't fix." Tony sighed.

Jasper then realized why Tony was feeling that bottled guilt. In his eyes, he was the reason people's lives were on hold. He was the reason behind cancelled plans or broken relationships.

"Tony," Jasper wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say so he simply tightened his hold on Anthony's hand.

"Look... let's just talk about something else okay?" Anthony used his left hand to rub at his eyes, using his sweater sleeve.

"Okay darlin'... but you need to paint what you want to see and know that there are people in this world that love you. You are not and have never been a burden." Jasper made sure to look directly into Tony's eyes and get the point across.

Anthony shrugged it off and rubbed his eyes again with a heavy cough.

Finally, Tony nodded and picked up a tube of paint, squeezing it out onto his canvas. Expertly, he capped the tube of paint with one hand before grabbing one of his paint brushes.

Luckily for both boys, Tony was left handed so his right hand remained at his side, clutched in Jasper's.

"So," Tony sniffed quickly, trying to act like he didn't want to curl up and cry again. "You're a vampire." He stated matter of factly.

"I am." Jasper's southern voice was very soothing on Anthony's mind and he found himself wanting to hear more, so he invited conversation.

"And you aren't gay?" Anthony didn't want to sound eager, so he just continued painting as if he wasn't interested, though he remembered their midnight conversation.

Jasper chuckled slightly.

"It's a little difficult to explain."

"So you are gay?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

"I guess?" Jasper leaned into the cushions a bit more.

"You guess?"

"Well I'm a bit new to the idea."

Anthony laughed, "You're over a hundred years old and you're still only just figuring out your sexuality?"

"Like I said, it's difficult to explain."

"Well, we've got time." Tony set down his paint brush and grabbed another tube of paint, examining it with a furrowed brow.

"What is it?" Jasper sat up slightly.

"I don't know if this is the right colour." He frowned, turning it over. "Can I use your hand?"

Jasper looked down at their intertwined hands for a moment and asked,

"For what?"

"To test it? I'd use my pants but these are brand new jeans and I'd use my other hand but it's kinda occupied. It's acrylic so it's fast drying but it's relatively okay on hands- I mean you're a vampire anyway.."

Jasper just nodded and held out his free hand with his palm to the floor.

Tony uncapped the paint and put the tiniest amount on the back of Jasper's hand, using a smaller brush to spread it into a line.

"That doesn't look right." Anthony muttered to himself and put the cap back on.

"Do you need your hand back?" Jasper asked, seeing Tony struggled slightly to find the colour that his mind was calling out for.

Tony shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. I like the challenge of painting one handed." Anthony waved off, finding another tube of paint and testing it on Jasper's hand. It seemed like this was the one he needed as his lips pulled up in a slight smile and he picked up a pallet knife.

"Good."

"Good." Tony agreed. "So, you. Gay?"

Jasper sighed slightly.

"I really don't wanna freak you out with the explanation."

"Oh, please. I took the vampire thing pretty well." Anthony rolled his eyes playfully, desperate for Jasper to just explain and get it over with.

"You called me a bitch." The Hale pointed out with a laugh.

"You earned the title, what can I say." Tony laughed along, trying to mockingly defend himself.

"I think I liked the pet names more than the curses." Jasper tossed out jokingly.

"Oh so you like my pet names?" Anthony raised an eyebrow with a wink, only to turn back to his canvas a second later, too soon to see Jasper's wide eyed reaction.

When Tony heard no verbal response from Jasper, he sighed slightly and looked to see the Hale's stare on him.

"Sorry, that was probably too strong. God, I'm so awkward." Anthony muttered.

Jasper tightened his grip on Tony's hand.

"Not at all, darlin'." He teased. "I'm just admiring the view."

Anthony, surprising himself, didn't blush. He thought, in a situation like this, he would. It's what you read about in romance novels and see on tv. You get flirted with, and you blush.

But he felt so incredibly comfortable with Jasper. Yes, the subtle comment sent his heart soaring but instead of stuttering and making a mess of himself, he smiled. Genuinely smiled.

He couldn't tell if it was Jasper, handling his emotions. Though he had a feeling that it wasn't.

Whatever it was, it made him confident enough to raise Jasper's hand to his lips and place a feathered kiss against the back.

He didn't look for Jasper's reaction, focusing on his canvas as their intertwined hands fell back to his side.

"Alright cowboy, tell me all about your kinda-being-gay."

"Cowboy?" Jasper smirked.

"Don't change the subject."

Jasper sighed heavily before leaning forward slightly.

"I wouldn't have known for sure if it wasn't for Alice. She saw you coming." Jasper began, trying to put together his words in a way that would make sense to Tony.

"Us vampires have these- people... they've been called 'mates'. Basically.. uh... when a vampire falls in love, they fall in love for life. It's an unbreakable bond and it's incredibly overpowering to bloodlust, something we've recently found out. Esme and Carlisle have the bond, as do Rosalie and Emmett." Jasper explained, studying Anthony's profile. Tony was listening intently but tried to seem disinterested, moving his palette knife against his canvas.

"And you've fallen in love?" Anthony asked. 

"Not yet, but judging by the way I feel with you I can assume it's gonna happen sooner rather than later."

Tony stopped moving completely, frozen after what he'd just heard.

"You- I'm- you think I'm- are you sure?" Anthony stuttered, gripping Jasper's hand tightly.

"Alice has seen the future and speaking from experience, the future is difficult to change." Jasper squeezed Tony's hand back.

Anthony looked down at the floor.

"And... would you.. would you want to change it?" He asked, a feeling of self doubt slowly wrapping around his mind. He began thinking how terrible it must be, to finally find the person you're supposed to be with for life only to see that they don't have much life left.

Jasper smiled.

"Not for anything." He spoke, gaining Tony's surprised attention. "I think I was destined to love you."

Anthony tried to keep himself from grinning, he really did. But nothing could stop the sheer amount of happiness that took over his face. Tony turned away from Jasper quickly to the table of his paints, trying to make it seem like he was looking for a new colour. Though he then realized, he did need a new colour.

"Hold out your hand please."

Jasper did as told, and Tony tried a new colour on his skin.

It was quiet for a while until Tony spoke up again.

"Are you gonna keep talking?" He asked.

Jasper's eyebrows raised.

"Did you want me to?"

"Yeah." Anthony replied in a 'duh' tone.

"What should I talk about?" Jasper asked.

Tony hummed in thought for a moment.

"Hey, are you going to prom?" Anthony settled on asking him about the upcoming dance.

Jasper frowned slightly.

"I don't think I should. I'm hardly fine in the cafeteria let alone a tight room full of humans. No doubt Rosalie and Emmett would go and their bloodlust is enough to drive me crazy." Jasper looked at Tony apologetically. He'd realized that Tony actually enjoyed those sorts of things and wished he could go with the boy.

Tony shrugged.

"That's okay." He stated, and it was. They didn't have to go to some frivolous dance together, as fun as it might have been.

"You should ask Alice to go with you." Jasper offered. "She's been waiting years for someone to take her and she would go alone but she says that even the idea of going alone is just depressing."

"She was my number one candidate actually." Anthony smirked. "But I figured I'd try my luck with you first." He winked.

"So she hasn't found her mate yet?" Tony changed the subject. "Alice, I mean."

Jasper shook his head.

"She knows they're out there, though. She hasn't had any visions but she says she can feel them." Jasper said.

"Did you have a feeling?" Anthony asked.

"I never really focussed on it, but maybe. I think 'the feeling' is just something she says though." Jasper laughed.

Anthony joined in as he changed colours.

"Yeah that sounds like her."

Playful banter and curious thoughts continued back and forth for hours until they realized it was almost eight o'clock and they'd spent a near five hours in each other's company.

Eventually, Anthony decidedly finished off his painting and showed it to Jasper, who just stared in awe.

A sense of pride washes over the blond as he looked at the painting.

Draw what you want to see.

A few months ago, he was drawing dark pictures of destruction and ruin.

Now, he sits in his own makeshift art studio, with his hand locked firmly in Jasper's, and he's painted a beautiful picture of a tree, it's leaves in tens of different colours creating a rainbow affect.

To the rest of the world, it was a tree. A really pretty tree.

To Jasper, it was an image- a symbol almost, of hope.

It was a message.

The message that now, Tony wanted to live long enough to see the leaves change.

He wanted to live.


	25. TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. make your move !

— THE SUN HAD FALLEN LOW IN THE SKY BY THE TIME THE TWO BOYS EMERGED FROM THE GARAGE, still linked by their hands.

Isabella's truck was in the driveway, a good thing otherwise Anthony would be on the hunt for Edward with garlic and holy water.

Charlie's police cruiser was no where to be seen, which most likely meant he'd be having a late night yet again.

Tony walked Jasper to his foster brother's Jeep and slowly, begrudgingly let the vampire's hand fall from his own.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Tony asked.

"You will." Jasper agreed.

The two nodded, not quite knowing what to do or say.

Jasper had never experienced something of this sort before. It had always been blind infatuation for him, never love. The concept was foreign to him.

But as he admired Anthony Swan's face in the dim street light's glow, the idea became more and more familiar.

This person, standing in front of him was his person, and he was Tony's.

Anthony pulled out his phone for a moment to check his texts, seeing a few from his sister and his friends in Arizona. Deciding he'd answer them once he got inside, he shoved his phone back into his jeans pocket and glanced at Jasper, who was still looking at him.

"So, tomorrow." Anthony checked.

Jasper chucked.

"Yes, darlin'." He reassured.

Tony nodded and went to walk away, but he paused. Jasper had a nervous feeling rising in his chest which he assumed was from the brunet boy.

As a last ditch decision and an internal 'fuck it', Anthony turned, laying a hand against Jasper's neck and leaned upwards slightly to place a kiss on the boy's cheek.

Jasper allowed himself to melt against Tony, savouring the warmth he felt on his ever freezing skin.

Slowly, hesitantly, Tony backed away and slid his hand against Jasper's chest until he was too far to reach.

"See ya later, cowboy." He called out with a shy but loving smile, and a slight wave.

Even being that close in proximity to the Hale left him breathless, but for the first time- it was a good kind of breathless. 

As Tony made his way back inside and Jasper hopped up into the driver's seat of the Jeep, he felt a wave sooth his rushing heart and knew that his move wasn't one to regret.

Anthony watched from the kitchen window as the Jeep pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street.

Picking up his backpack that he'd dropped inside earlier, and glancing at the clock on the wall, Tony figured that Bella would still be awake.

So Anthony climbed the stairs, lugging his oxygen tank after him, tossed his bag into his room and came to a stop outside his sister's bedroom door.

"Hey Bells, can I come in?" He called out, knocking against the wood.

A faint voice sounded from inside, agreeing to entry.

When he stepped into the room, he saw his younger sister sprawled out on her bed.

Anthony swerved his oxygen tank to sit next to the frame before making Bella move over to allow room for him to lay down.

A silence fell over them as they stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to say.

"So they're vampires." Bella tried, her voice quiet as she turned to look at Anthony's side profile.

He nodded.

"How long have you known?" She asked.

"Not long." Tony let his head fall to the side, so they were now face to face.

"Listen," he began. "I don't think they're a threat. Not to us. But I need to know, before we get too deep into their lives... is this another nightmare that you need protecting from?"

Maybe it sounded slightly offensive to the Cullens, but they were vampires after all and he had to make sure Bella was okay with that.

"No."

And Anthony knew that she was sincere.

They stayed in each other's company for a while longer, not saying much, though they knew the other was there.

Whether it be mentally or physically, the Swan siblings were always going to be there for each other, as long as time allowed.

Anthony Swan would remain her blanket-caped hero and Isabella would always be his stary eyed little sister, the little sister that he had to protect.

Eventually though, Anthony got up and urged that Bella get ready for bed as he did the same.

They did their nightly routine side by side, getting glasses of water from the kitchen tap, brushing their teeth in the bathroom sink. Then they disappeared into their rooms and changed for the night, Tony adding on the changing of his oxygen tank to his concentrator.

Finally, when he laid down in his own bed, he pulled out his phone again and read the earlier messages.

Bella  
Your sex jokes are terrible

Bella  
You need new content

Bella  
Also stop gay panicking, Jasper is totally into you

Tony decided not to reply to those messages, knowing his sister was in the next room and heading to bed. Instead, he moved on to others.

Liv  
hEllo my darling lil boy, guess who's back in the hospital and is annoying the shit outta Danny E

Tony  
My best guess is you?? You can annoy the shit outta anyone??

Liv  
That was harsh you bitch stick

Tony  
I mean it with all the love in the world

Liv  
O well in that case it's fine

Liv  
I miss your geek ass

Tony  
My geek ass misses your nerd ass

Tony  
Tell your nerd ass to come visit or something

Tony  
Bring Danny

Tony  
And Chinese food

Liv  
So demanding what the fuck

Liv  
Which Danny?

Tony  
Danny Devito- no, Danny Zuko, which Danny did you think

Liv  
Right right

Liv  
He's sitting across from me sulking that you didn't text him first

Tony  
Tell him to have patience I'll text him in a sec

Tony  
And I'll give him the juiciest detail about my day

Liv  
What am I?? A trashcan?? The amount of disrespect??

Tony  
Chill, my friend, I love you too

Liv responded with a quick 'love you' before Anthony moved on.

Danny  
How's your day been going kid

Tony  
Surprisingly better than most

Danny  
Oh yeah? What makes this day so much better?

Tony  
I kissed a really attractive guy on the cheek and he didn't y'know, flinch

It took Danny a few minutes to reply

Danny  
What's his address, I wanna talk

Tony  
You're gonna visit him before you visit me?

Danny  
I gotta give him my Dan talk

Tony  
Don't call it your dan talk

Danny  
Why not? It sounds like 'Dad talk'

Tony  
Ur not my dad

Danny  
I'm pretty damn close

Danny  
Anyway, it's late- like really late

Danny  
You need to go to sleep

Danny  
I love you, kid

Tony  
I love you too, Dan

With that, he had no other messages to reply to so he decided to just shut it down and curl up under the covers.

Maybe it was the feeling of bliss he got after spending the day with Jasper Hale. Maybe it was that southern accent that bounced around his mind, lulling into a soothing rhythm. Maybe it was just the amount of nights he hadn't slept. But that night, practically hugging a pillow to his face, he let out a sigh and found himself quickly falling asleep.

— WHEN MORNING CAME IT SURPRISINGLY WASN'T AS HARSH AS IT NORMALLY WAS FOR ANTHONY TO WAKE UP. He felt refreshed almost, which was a welcome feeling.

He didn't even mind that he woke up to his phone buzzing way earlier than his alarm clock.

Sitting up, adjusting his nasal prongs and the way his long sleeve shirt hung around his torso, he picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID, which read 'Alice'. Accepting the call, he put his phone up to his ear and rubbed his sleeve against his eyes.

"Hey pretty lady." Tony greeted. On the other line, Alice giggled slightly.

"Hey pretty boy." She hummed. "So- Edward's decided he's gonna drive Isabella to school, and we figured you wouldn't want to be in the car with them being so love-eyed." Alice explained.

Tony nodded, even though she couldn't see him. Leaning down, he reached for his school bag that he'd, at some point, set next to his bed the night before. He had to check and see if he still had a pencil sharpener as he seemed to keep losing it.

It's a bright, neon, highlighter pink colour, and yet he kept loosing it. How? He would never know.

"But I have to get my biology assignment in to Mr Molina before school starts and Emmett lost his biology textbook again- he keeps leaving it places..." Alice began, leaving a bit of space for Tony's input, as he'd normally make a comment about Emmett's forgetfulness or the amount of 'bologna' Mr Molina's class was. Though the Swan said nothing, which left Alice confused.

"So- I'm riding with Emmett and Jazz, but Rosalie offered to pick you up? It's just- we know you don't drive and we don't want you to walk..." Alice trailed off, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one, she was confused yet again. "Tony?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here." His bag was open on his bed and from within he saw a deep, pulsing glow that was purple in colour. "Uhh, tell Rose that I'd be happy to ride with her... hey, I gotta go- go and get ready or something... I'll see you in art class."

With that, Tony hung up before he could get a reply.

For a moment, Tony just held a stare with his bag before slowly standing from the bed and taking off his nasal cannula, letting the tubing fall to the floor.

"Hey Bells!" Anthony called out, not tearing his eyes away from the purple halo of light his backpack was emitting.

"Yeah, Tony?"

"Did you put something in my backpack?" He asked. "Like a glow stick or something?"

Bella's voice got closer and closer as Anthony backed up to the door.

"No, why would I-" Then Isabella entered the room in her tank top and pyjama bottoms and saw what Tony was talking about.

"Are you sure you didn't- do anything?" Tony held his gaze with the now light purple hue.

"Yes, Tony I'm sure."

It was tense for a moment as Anthony held out an arm in front of Bella, urging her not to get too close. Then the glow began to flicker before it disappeared completely.

"What... the fuck." Tony whispered, slightly heaving, and not because of his lack of lifeline. "I just wanted to find my goddamn pencil sharpener, this is bullshit." He muttered, cursing again under his breath.

Isabella went to examine the bag, but was held back by Anthony.

"Don't- don't go near it. What are you, stupid?" Tony asked, pulling Bella back into the hallway behind him. "Do you have a death wish? We don't even know what this is."

"That's not a vampire thing, is it?" Bella asked, peeking at the backpack from over her brother's shoulder.

Tony turned and looked at her incredulously.

"I would guess not?" He stated sarcastically. "Just stay here."

Slowly and carefully, as if approaching some wild animal, Anthony tiptoed towards his bed and gently opened his backpack, glancing inside.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at what he saw.

It was a rock, or some sort of purple and white crystal.

"What is it?" Bella asked, leaning into the room slightly.

Tony, perceiving the rock to be no real threat anymore, grabbed it and held it up for his sister to see.

"It's... a rock?" Bella stepped in and squinted at the thing in Tony's hand.

"Looks like one." Anthony shrugged, "but I don't think rocks are supposed to glow like that."


	26. TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. how did you sleep ?

— AS ANTHONY DUCKED INTO ROSALIE'S CHERRY RED CONVERTIBLE, he situated his oxygen tank and backpack at his feet before pulling the purple rock out of his sweater pocket.

"D'you have any idea what this is?" He asked Rosalie before she had the chance to shift gears and start driving.

Rosalie's eyebrows furrowed as she examined the crystal.

"It's an amethyst." She stated, not knowing the purpose of the conversation as she turned her eyes to the road and started to move.

"That doesn't really answer my question." Anthony sighed as he fell back into his seat and buckled his seatbelt, still looking at the rock in his hand. "Have they ever been known to glow?"

Rosalie looked at him oddly.

"Yeah, I figured." He sighed. "It was lighting up like the Fourth of July about fifteen minutes ago."

Rosalie glanced at the side view mirror before answering.

"Maybe you should talk to Carlisle about it." She suggested.

Tony looked up confusedly.

"Why would I talk to Carlisle about it?" He asked, shoving the stone back into his pocket.

"He used to be part of the Volturi. If anyone were to know anything about glowing rocks, it'd be them." The blonde explained.

"Volturi is the vampire government and law, right?" Anthony checked.

Rosalie smiled proudly, "you remembered."

"Of course I did." Tony shrugged.

It was quiet for a moment before Anthony spoke up again.

"I realize I also didn't say hello, that was rude of me. Hello." He smiled and put his elbow against the car door, leaning his head into his hand.

Rosalie chuckled slightly.

"Hello, Tony."

"You are, as always, absolutely radiant today." Tony complimented.

"Was that a compliment or a pun about the glowing rock?" Rosalie side eyed him.

Anthony looked out the window as he laughed.

"A compliment."

"Well in that case, thank you."

Anthony just nodded in response.

The car continued on down the wet road.

"Why do you always do that?" Rosalie asked.

Tony cast a confused glance in the woman's direction.

"Do what?"

"You- compliment women, even though you're gay. What's the point?" Rosalie had seen the worst of what the male population had to offer, and in her eyes compliments were just masked attempts at bedding the female population.

It was like a switch was flipped, and Anthony turned in his seat to face her.

"I do it because my compliments are truth, not just ways to get you to sleep with me. Some people need and deserve to be told they're beautiful, without the attachments. I'm not looking for a phone number or directions to a hotel, I just tell you that you're beautiful because quite plainly: you are. I don't have or need any other reason." He stated before turning to look out the window again.

He had always supported female rights and ways but Liv Marigold turned him into a raging feminist.

Rosalie went quiet for a second, collecting her thoughts.

"It's different with you. Quite a few male feminists just do it to appeal as a sensitive person. You don't just sell the tickets, you put on the show." She said.

Anthony turned a tilted head and smiled at her.

"If I didn't, there'd be a damned disappointed crowd." He laughed.

Rosalie smiled, "You aren't wrong." She said as they pulled into the Forks high school parking lot, directly into the space next to Emmett's Jeep.

Rosalie reached into the back to grab her bag as Anthony gathered his things.

"Hey Rosie?" Tony asked.

She'd never let anyone call her Rosie. Maybe Rose, if they were respectful enough, but for some reason now she let it slide and actually found herself smiling at the nickname.

"Yeah?" The blonde grabbed her keys and put her hand on the door handle.

"We may not hang out that much but I'm really glad you exist." He gave her a grin before getting out of the vehicle, leaving the woman in a state of welcomed shock.

Once Anthony was out of the car with his oxygen tank's wheels on the ground and his backpack over his shoulder, he spotted Jasper leaning against the back of Emmet's Jeep.

"There you are." The Hale boy said as a greeting, seeing Tony approach him.

"You were waiting for me?" Anthony asked, not realizing that he was supposed to meet Jasper in the morning.

Jasper nodded, "I wanted to give you something."

Tony's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What's that?"

Jasper then leaned forward to place a kiss on Anthony's cheek in a similar way the brunet had done the night before.

Tony's lips pulled up into a lovesick smile that he tried to hide in his balled up sweater sleeve, looking down at the pavement.

Clearing his throat he looked back up at Jasper.

"Ah, that."

Jasper chuckled at the boy's reaction and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leading him away from the parking lot.

"I'll walk you to your class."

— ALICE SHOWED UP THREE MINUTES LATE TO ART CLASS, but neither Anthony nor anyone else seemed to mind. Just like he had with Rosalie and Jasper earlier in the morning, Tony tried to ask Alice if she knew anything about glowing amethyst.

The Cullens seemed to have the same response, they had no idea what it was that caused the stone to illuminate.

Eventually, the boy was sitting in the seat next to Jasper's in history, his left hand taking notes and his right hand stayed preoccupied with Jasper's.

Anthony would have made a comment about Jasper not taking notes, but then he reminded himself that Jasper probably lived through all the stuff they were being taught and didn't need the notes.

"So you're sure you have no experience with rocks that turn into radioactive looking light bulbs?" Tony asked, his voice a low whisper.

Jasper absentmindedly shook his head 'no', still playing with Anthony's hand.

"Unless you count kryptonite but that's green, not purple." The blond stated with a shrug.

Tony nodded while looking at the clock, seeing a few minutes to go before the bell would ring. Then, Jasper's comment registered in Anthony's mind and he was shot with surprise.

"Wait," Tony tried to keep his tone at a whisper. "Since when are you making Superman references?"

"Since we read those comics about Spider-Man, Thor and... Captain.." Jasper trailed off, obviously forgetting the last name.

Though Tony remembered the other day when they read a comic about one of his favourite female heroes, which they found hidden away in the library.

"Captain Marvel?" He offered.

"Yeah."

"None of those were Superman?" Anthony said, hinting to the fact that Jasper shouldn't know Superman.

"Yeah I read one just last night. Emmett has a bunch of DC comic books and so I stole a few." Jasper shrugged.

Tony's eyebrows raised.

"And how was it?" He asked.

"Not bad, I guess. I think I prefer the Marvel comics though. Not sure how I feel about Superman either... I mean, he has so many powers but he gets weakened by rocks? Why don't his enemies just slingshot pieces of kryptonite at him, it'd probably work the same as a bullet." The blond went on a slight rant while Anthony watched him in awe and disbelief.

"Hold on- you're choosing sides now?" Tony asked.

"I'm just saying Marvel seems cooler than DC."

"But what about Dick Grayson? All the Robins? The freakin beauty that is Jason Todd? All of Batdad's kids?"

Jasper chuckled under his breath, "Batman is not cut out to be a father."

"Yeah, but his kids are fuckin' awesome." Anthony grinned just as the bell rung and they began to put away their stuff.

"I haven't seen much of the kids yet."

"Well, we have to change that."

Jasper laughed and waited till Tony was situated before he grabbed the Swan's hand and led him out the door of the history classroom.

As if on autopilot, the two made their way to the medical building without much thought. It had become part of their daily pattern.

Upon entry, Reyes Jaylin greeted them as they sat down, avoiding eye contact with Jasper.

"Hello Anthony, did you sleep well last night?" He asked politely, knowing Tony had told him about his sleep deprivation issues.

"I did, actually. First time in days." Tony replied, a blissful smile on his face.

Jasper was happy to hear Anthony was feeling better, but was also curious about how Reyes asked instantly. As if the Englishman knew that the Swan's answer was going to differentiate from before.

Tony said it himself, he hadn't slept properly in days. Well, how could Reyes possibly know that this day would change?

Reyes was quick about changing out the oxygen tank and setting everything up for Tony, much quicker than usual at least. It was strange to see him in such a rush.

As Reyes was helping to fix Anthony's tubing, Jasper decided to test something.

"So are you going to ask Carlisle about that amethyst?" The Hale asked Tony, and watched for Reyes' reaction.

He wasn't disappointed, as Reyes' heartbeat sped up and he fumbled for a second.

"I don't know. Rosalie said Emmett knew a bit about crystals. Maybe I should talk to him first."

Jasper hummed in agreement and examined Reyes suspiciously.

"Have you got any form of pain medication or a pain reliever?" Reyes asked as he pulled away and stood in front of the two.

Anthony nervously looked down at the floor.

"I- uh- I do, but I don't ever use it anymore. I ran out just the other day and never bothered to get it refilled." He said.

Reyes sighed.

"Get it refilled."

— LUNCH ROLLED AROUND RATHER QUICKLY WHICH ANTHONY WAS SOMEWHAT GRATEFUL FOR. As much as he liked to spend time with Jasper, he also needed to talk to Emmett. Tony also noticed that Jasper seemed to be eyeing down Reyes like he was some sort of science fair project, which was particularly odd.

"Hey there, Emily." Anthony greeted as he and Jasper sat down. Emmett just nodded in response while Rosalie, Alice and Jasper looked confused at the nickname.

Anthony noticed that Edward and Bella were no where to be found. So either they skipped school or they're spending the lunch outside.

And if Tony finds out Bella skipped school there's gonna be a whole new problem on her hands.

Tony grabbed the rock out of his pocket and handed it to the Cullen.

"Aha, I heard that you'd had one of these. Before you ask; no they've never been known to glow." Emmett said.

"Are you absolutely certain that it was glowing?" Rosalie asked.

"Both Swan siblings as witness. It was bright purple for about three minutes before it flickered and was gone." Anthony shrugged and leaned back into Jasper's arm.

"Aren't certain stones believed to have healing abilities? What kind of abilities is an amethyst meant to have?" Alice asked, after the small smirk she sent to Jasper and subtle glance at Tony. Jasper chose to ignore it, even when Rosalie joined her foster sister, practically mocking the position of the two boys.

Emmett seemed to search his mind for a minute, still examining the rock.

"Well... I can't remember.. there are so many crystals and minerals and stuff, I can't be expected to remember them all." Emmett finally said with a sigh.

Tony let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and held his hand out for the stone again.

"Wait- no... amethyst is believed to have certain healing abilities with physical and mental ailments- amethyst therapy is meant to help the nervous system along with curing nightmares and insomnia... I think." It was as if Emmett was reciting it directly from a book.

"So some physical pains and sleeping?" Rosalie reiterated.

Emmett nodded and tossed Anthony the rock, which Jasper caught and handed it to the boy.

"We have to have a talk with Reyes." Jasper stated, glancing around the table at his sibling's confused eyes.

"The nurse guy?" Alice asked.

Anthony turned against Jasper's arm to look him in the face.

"Why would we have to talk to Reyes?" Tony questioned.

"Because he's the only one who knew to ask how you slept today."


	27. TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. the cullen house !

— AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY, they regrouped around Rosalie's convertible and Emmett's Jeep to discuss how they were going to approach the school nurse.

Anthony was locked arms with Alice as they gathered in a semi circle to look out on the rest of the parking lot. Though, Jasper stayed close behind the Swan boy.

Tony, at some point, noticed Edward's tuft of bronze coloured hair among the sea of students. His arm wrapped around Isabella's shoulders as they made their way to the Cullen's silver Volvo.

Edward saw his siblings and Anthony, reading their minds to understand why they hadn't left yet.

Tony noticed this, and decided to try and make the best of it.

Hey Eddie. He thought, watching Edward's eyes shoot to him.

You can hear me, right? Tony saw him nod ever so slightly.

Good, I just wanted to let you know: if you hurt her, you will be circumcised. Anthony threatened and saw Edward's face scrunch up in discomfort. Keep her safe. Tony nodded in Bella's direction.

Edward seemed to send one final nod before turning and helping Bella into the car.

Anthony turned to the rest of the Cullens, listening to the conversation.

"So are we just gonna walk up to him?" Alice asked.

"Well we can't do that, can we?" Jasper replied.

Rosalie leaned forward, "We don't even know for certain if he's the one that put that amethyst in Tony's bag."

"Who else would it be?" Alice questioned, glancing around.

"I don't know, a ghost?" Emmett said sarcastically, backing up his wife's opinion despite there not being any other suspects.

"We should talk to Carlisle first." Anthony decided to speak up. "He might know something that we can use when we talk to Reyes. Right now, we have no idea what's going on, only that there was a glowing rock, some sort of healing voodoo and our best suspect is the school nurse."

Jasper and Alice nodded, knowing that would be the most logical approach.

"Let's go, then."

Emmett and Rosalie agreed and got into their respective vehicles.

That left Alice, Jasper and Anthony to figure out which vehicle Tony was going to ride in, though Tony had already decided that the convertible made more sense. Besides, he could last the few minutes without Jasper at his side.

So while Alice climbed into the backseat, Anthony left a quick kiss on Jasper's jawline- too lazy and in too much of a rush to tilt his head up all the way. 

Then, he hopped into the passenger seat of Rosalie's convertible and barely had enough time to buckle up before the blonde was hauling ass out of the lot.

It took little to no time to pull in the Cullen's driveway.

Anthony found his stomach riddled with nervous butterflies. He'd never seen their house before. What did a vampire's house look like?

He'd also met Carlisle durning that one hospital visit, though he had never met Esme- despite the woman making him soup.

Would this be the day he finally met the vampire-mother?

Through passing trees, Anthony's eyes finally landed on the beautiful, modern-style house that belonged to the Cullens and decided maybe he had nothing to fear.

There were windows wall to wall, lots of wood and most exterior walls were a dark black colour.

Very unlike most houses in Forks. But these were rich vampires that could afford a house such as that, and if they couldn't afford it they could probably just build the damn thing.

Anthony didn't even see Jasper move, but as soon as Rosalie put the car in park the boy was at the passenger side of the convertible, opening the door for Tony and helping him out.

Alice and Jasper stood at his side while he fixed up his oxygen tank on the ground, having to unwind a bit of tubing. Rosalie and Emmett stood at the door, wanting to go inside but also wanting to see Anthony's reaction, knowing he'd have one.

Once he was set, he grabbed the handle of his oxygen tank and linked arms again with Alice.

"It's quite the place you've got here." Anthony stated, glancing around the house again as they approached the door.

"Were you expecting something else?" Emmett teased as he stepped inside to hold the door open for everyone.

"Maybe a coffin or two. Pretty standard vampire stuff." Tony joked, to which Rosalie smirked.

"You think so low of us? We would have caskets, they're so much nicer." Emmett shook his head in fake disappointment while everyone laughed.

The inside of the house was just as nice as the outside.

Every wall was painted white and there were houseplants and books galore.

He also noticed some water colour paintings of flowers that were too flawed to be professional and too beautiful to done by an amateur. He guessed it would have been a Cullen art piece, and internally praised them for their work.

Anthony felt like he was in some sort of TV show scene. His friends, the vampire family, were investigating another seemingly supernatural being and everyone was looking badass. Eccept for him, of course, he just looked like the grim reaper on a day off, wearing sweats and leaning against his oxygen tank.

It made him think about how weird they must look during lunch. All five, beautiful, flawless, other worldly beings looking like they'd come straight out of a makeup ad; hanging out with tired, dark circles, tousled hair and bad inappropriate jokes.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't appreciate all the stares they got but he could definitely understand them.

Emmett and Rosalie led the way through the house and basically told Anthony where everything was. When they arrived in the living room they saw Esme, sitting on the couch reading a book that Anthony couldn't see the name of.

Esme stood as they came in, setting the book neatly down on the cushion next to her. When she saw Anthony, her face lit up in a smile

Tony stepped in after Alice, pulling his oxygen tank to hide behind his legs in a nervous fashion, as if trying to hide the bright pink elephant in the room.

It didn't work, but no one said anything or pointed it out.

"Anthony, it's wonderful to finally meet you." Esme greeted.

"Please, Mrs Cullen, call me Tony. 'Anthony' is a bit long." Tony sent her an innocent and boyish smile, wanting to make a good impressions on his friends' mother.

"And you can call me Esme." The woman smiled back with a small tilt of her head, her red-brown curls moving with her.

Anthony could feel Esme's motherly aura wrapping around him whenever she smiled. It was really really nice, and something he'd never truly experienced before.

With Esme, it felt like she wanted to be a mother.

With his own mother, Renée, it was more so because she had to.

"Carlisle was just up in his office." Esme said, though the other vampires in the room already knew.

"Not anymore." A calm voice sounded, along with the soft tap of wood. Looking up, there was Carlisle in all his scarf-wearing glory, walking down the stairs.

"How have you been, Anthony?" Carlisle asked as he reached the bottom step.

"I've been okay." Tony stated before glancing over at Jasper and Alice, who had stayed by his side. "Better."

"Glad to hear it." The eldest looking blond said with a nod.

It was a slightly awkward silence in the room, with Anthony not quite knowing what to do. 

He was in a room full of vampires. One of which was his doctor for a brief period, one was someone he just met, one was his best friend, one was his no homo flirting buddy and rock enthusiast, one was his sassy badass blonde feminist friend and one was the guy Anthony was pretty sure he was falling for.

Excuse him for being a little awkward.

He couldn't figure out what to say and he had a feeling the Cullens were waiting on him to do something. None of the other vampire siblings spoke up about the amethyst so apparently he had to do it.

"So... Carlisle.. ever heard about rocks that glow for like, 2 minutes?"

And what a brilliant attempt that was, though Carlisle seemed to take it seriously.

"Nothing in my own personal experience, why?" He asked, stepping forward.

"Because Tony here has one weird rock. We think it could have something to do with a school nurse but we have no idea what he did." Emmett leaned into the conversation.

Tony mentally cursed at Emmett.

You couldn't have stepped in to say that sooner?

If Edward was around he'd have a field day on Anthony's mind, constantly making comments and saying stuff that he definitely couldn't say out loud. For fear of being judged or kicked out.

"Interesting." Carlisle hummed with furrowed eyebrows, everyone watching his reaction. "Let's talk about this upstairs." He stated, planning to get more details and then consult the books for information.

"Tony, would you like anything to eat?" Esme asked before they could start moving.

Anthony began to protest.

"Really I couldn't I-" he started before getting cut off by Rosalie, who twirled a price of her hair and stepped out of Emmett's grip.

"I'll help you make something." She told Esme as they walked to towards the kitchen.

Jasper and Alice were grateful in that moment that they weren't the only ones that noticed Anthony hadn't eaten during lunch. He got up at some point to grab a banana and a water bottle, but then ended up ditching the banana on Angela Weber's tray after he asked if she wanted it.

It was obvious Angela hadn't wanted to accept it, knowing Tony hadn't eaten, but she did anyway. She was just that polite and 'no' wasn't a word in her vocabulary. At least not for Anthony Swan.

Alice and Jasper both smiled gratefully in Rosalie's direction. She ignored them, but gave a kind smile to Tony over her shoulder when she flipped her pretty blonde waves.

She'd remembered their earlier conversation, and decided Anthony was a boy she could trust. A friend, even and she'd be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to help him.

The group waited until Esme and Rosalie had left the room before beginning to walk up the stairs, with Alice grabbing Tony's oxygen tank. 

Maybe she couldn't do it in public, because she didn't look like a woman of strength, but in the privacy of their own home she was free to do what she wanted and she wanted to help Tony with his struggle up the stairs.

Carlisle's office was a small room with two walls of glass, two walls of books. A desk, a desk chair, a few other chairs scattered around the room, stacks of paper and patient profiles and an expensive looking CD player.

It was a mess. But an organized mess.

"So, Anthony, you seem to be adapting rather well to our family." Carlisle said. It wasn't necessarily a question, just an observation.

"I've learned to adapt." Tony shrugged as he sat down in the armchair Carlisle offered to him. Turning back in the chair, he looked at the three Cullens that had also followed them in, urging them to move, speak, do anything.

Alice was the first to move, her light, almost dancing feet, clad in comfortable flats, brought her over next to Tony and she perched on the armrest of the chair he was sat in.

Emmett grabbed a book off the shelf and leaned against the wall near the door.

Jasper also grabbed a book but decided to hang off to the side a bit.

"So this... amethyst? Was it?" Carlisle decided to get into the situation at hand.

Emmett nodded in confirmation.

"It illuminated for a few moments before seemingly extinguishing itself?"

Tony nodded.

"Where is it?"

Anthony pulled it out of his pocket and placed it on the desk, where Carlisle had decided to stand.

Carlisle's eyes narrowed in on the stone before he sighed.

"I have an idea... but it's very unlikely. Almost impossible."

Everyone else in the room shared a confused look.

"What is it?" Jasper asked, stepping forward slightly to stand behind Anthony's chair.

Carlisle sighed and turned to grab a book from a shelf.

"They'd be different from what you know." Carlisle began, obviously speaking to Tony. "And as I say, it's practically impossible. No one has seen evidence of their existence for years."

"The existence of what?" Alice urged.

Carlisle sighed.

"Anthony have you ever heard of witchcraft?"


	28. TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. mistakes you made !

— ANTHONY AND THE CULLENS SPENT A LOT OF THEIR TIME CONSIDERING WITCHCRAFT AS A BLATANT POSSIBILITY. By the end of it all, they were almost certain that's what Reyes was. A witch.

Though for the rest of the week, Reyes didn't turn up at school and instead Tony was greeted by a polite elderly brown haired nurse that took way longer than usual to change out his oxygen tank.

Anthony really liked hanging out at the Cullen's house. Esme and Rosalie taught him how to cook properly, or at least tried their best. He and Emmett watered the plants around the house or played video games. Anthony chatted with Carlisle about vampire history and other supernatural creatures that he should be aware of and then Tony, Jasper and Alice would go on walks through the woods, since they didn't mind carrying Tony's oxygen tank.

And when he wasn't over with the Cullens, a Cullen was with him in his art studio garage. 

It was nice, to have a group of people to belong to. A close friend, a motherly woman, a sassy feminist, an older brother type, a smart teacher with a great voice, and a really good looking southern vampire.

Everyday, those were the people he saw, which he didn't necessarily mind.

On Saturday the following weekend, Bella decided to try and buff out the dent in her truck from the accident with Tyler Crowley.

It wasn't working, Anthony could tell that from the kitchen window, but he didn't have the heart or energy to say anything so he just finished eating his toast.

Despite spending most of his time at the Cullen house, he noticed Edward had been spending almost every moment with his sister. At first he thought maybe he was internally exaggerating or imagining it, but then he glanced out the window again with a mouthful of toast and almost choked when he saw the bronze haired vampire land on the roof of the rust bucket of a truck.

Land from where, Anthony wasn't sure.

But he was sure that landing wasn't normal and people could see and goddamn it, Eddie what are you doing?

Tony was glad that Edward didn't seem to be listening for his thoughts, or if he could hear them he made no move to acknowledge it.

For a second, Anthony debated going out and seeing why Edward was there, and after glancing down at his finished plate of toast, Tony decided maybe going outside would be more exciting.

Besides, he was waiting for Emmett to pick him up anyway.

So standing up, and leaning over just enough to put his plate in the sink, Tony grabbed his oxygen tank in his right hand and used his left to open the front door.

While he was situating his tank on the front step, he heard a clanging noise which startled him enough to make him look up, only to see the sound had come from Edward fixing the dent. By just pulling the metal back into place.

Yeah, 'cause that's normal.

"Could you at least act like an actual human? Because I could see you from the kitchen window man." Anthony spoke up to announce his presence while also pointing behind him, at the house, to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, and we have neighbours." Bella glanced at her brother and agreed.

Edward seemed to ignore those words and settled his attention on Bella.

"I'm gonna take you to my place tomorrow." He stated.

Anthony knew it wasn't in a demanding way, if anything the guy seemed slightly nervous.

"Uh, wait, with like, your family?" Isabella glanced at Tony for a second, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

Anthony picked up his oxygen tank and brought it down the stairs, setting it down on the pavement and moving towards his sister and the Cullen.

"Yeah." Edwards nodded.

"What if they don't like me?" Bella worried.

Tony wheezed a laugh, and saw that Edward was trying to keep himself from doing the same.

"So you're worried... not because you'll be in a house full of vampires, but because you think they won't approve of you?" Edward chuckled.

Tony leaned toward his sister and nudged her.

"Priorities, woman." He joked, still laughing.

"I'm glad I amuse you." Bella muttered.

Edward then glanced down the road with a far off look.

"What is it?" The woman of the trio asked, while Anthony straightened his posture in slight worry.

"Complication." Edward sighed. "Anthony, you want a ride?" He tilted his head towards his silver Volvo, which Tony hadn't even noticed before.

"Does Emmett know?"

Edward nodded.

"Then yeah." Anthony kissed the crown of Bella's head quickly, muttering something along the lines of 'don't do anything stupid till I get back.' Before following Edward to his car.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow." Edward said to Bella before getting into the driver's seat and starting up the vehicle.

Tony placed his oxygen tank on the floor between his legs and buckled up in record time. For this particular ride, he had decided to sit in the front.

Then Edward started the car down the road, but Anthony noticed when he slowed down next to Billy Black's truck and locked eyes with Billy himself before pulling away.

Anthony remembered that Billy and Jacob black had been coming over that night to watch the game on Charlie's TV.

Tony hadn't ever been interested in sports. Sure, dancing was fun, but sports were a waste of time on him. He was terribly uncoordinated with a ball, didn't work well in a team, constantly lost track of what he was doing. It was a mess, and Renée promptly regrets signing him up for soccer that one summer.

So he left the sporty things to Charlie, who understood that athleticism wasn't his thing, sitting around painting and drawing? That was his thing. He was good at that.

Though what really caught Anthony's attention, was the slight glare that his friend and Billy had held.

"What are they?" Tony asked as they continued on towards the Cullen house. 

Edward glanced at the brunet in surprise.

"How did you know?" Edward focused on the road, still glancing every once in a while at Tony.

"Because I'm not that stupid." Anthony crossed his arms and leaned back in the seat. "Carlisle says there's other things out there. Since Forks already has a family of vampires and possibly a Witch or whatever, what's one more thing?" Tony shrugged.

Edward nodded in understanding, but still furrowed his eyebrows at the thought.

He was right, Forks seemed to be a hot spot for the unnatural.

"So, what are they?" Anthony pushed.

"Shifters." Edward said, which left Tony confused. "Wolves." He reiterated.

"Right." Anthony thought back to that one night when he sat with Bella and explained what she and Jacob had talked about earlier in the day. How, apparently, they were descendants of wolves.

"You knew that?" Edward glanced out the window and checked his mirrors.

"Yeah."

"Then why'd you ask?"

Anthony shrugged, "Because my dumb ass forgot that I knew that."

— ANTHONY HAD ENDED UP SPENDING THE NIGHT AT THE CULLEN HOUSE. After texting Charlie to confirm it was okay, Alice bursted with excitement and eventually she had most of the family sitting down to watch a movie.

What the movie was, no one really knew because no one was actually paying attention.

Instead they were sat on the ground playing go fish with the cards Esme had found tucked away in a drawer.

"No way! Alice, you're cheating!" Emmett exclaimed.

"Emmett, lower your voice." Esme scolded, picking up another card after Rosalie told her to 'go fish'.

"Hey Emmett, got any twos?"

"Tony, don't test me." Emmett shook his head with mock anger, but there was a small smile on his face.

Anthony was sat in front of the couch that Jasper was sitting on, since Jasper was the only one actually paying attention to the movie.

Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Esme had curled up into a corner of their half circle- half rectangular abomination, and they were all hiding their cards like their lives depended on it.

"Gold fish." Emmett stated after he checked his cards, sticking out his tongue chidlishly.

"Emmett, it's go. fish." Tony playfully rolled his eyes as he grabbed a new card.

"I can call it whatever I want, you still have to pick up cards." Emmett sassed before he continued with his turn.

"Rosie, your husband is an idiot."

Rosalie chuckled at the boy, "I'm aware."

Emmett made a noise that was quite indignant.

Anthony tilted his head back to lean on the couch cushion, next to Jasper's leg, and looked up at the blond.

Jasper was only slightly paying attention to the card game going on, more interested in the TV.

"You enjoying the movie?" Tony asked, catching Jasper's attention.

"It's not bad." Jasper smiled, fixing a section of Anthony's hair.

Tony leaned his head forward slightly to glance at the TV, seeing John Travolta with a particularly interesting hairstyle, and shrugged.

"Tony, got any aces?"

Anthony leaned forward and handed Rosalie his only ace card, before slouching back and laying his temple against Jasper's knee.

Tony felt Jasper shift around slightly, and looked up to see what he was doing, only to have a fluffy blanket wrap around his shoulders.

Anthony hummed contently, placing his head back to its first position.

"Esme, got any eights?" Tony asked. Esme handed over her eight and Anthony tossed it into his pile.

While all the women of the group had their piles of pairs organized in a line, Anthony had just been stacking them and Emmett had been, oddly, holding them in his other hand facing down.

Tony was wildly enjoying himself, but also realized that he was getting more and more tired as the night progressed, and he knew Jasper could feel his oncoming fatigue.

Eventually, Jasper helped Anthony up the stairs and into a small room with a whole bunch of medical equipment stacked in piles, along with a bed stuffed in the corner of the room.

"Do I even want to ask how you guys have all this stuff?" Anthony asked as he glanced around the room before looking out the wall of windows on one side.

"Carlisle got it all."

"That doesn't answer my question," Tony muttered. "Pretty sure just because he's a doctor doesn't mean he can take stuff home."

Jasper just shrugged.

"It's the only room with a bed and concentrator." The blond said awkwardly.

"Don't doubt it." Tony nodded.

They continued to look around the room, not quite knowing what to do.

The only light came from the moon outside, which was high in the sky. It casted a light blue glow on everything in the room, including the boy's faces.

"You always wear sweaters." Tony pointed. He knew it was a weird ice breaker but he really didn't want Jasper to leave just yet.

Jasper looked down at his sleeves with a far off gleam in his eyes.

"Any particular stories about that or do you just get really cold?" Tony pressed with a laugh, taking a step forward to reach for Jasper's hand.

And it was the first time Jasper had pulled away from the Swan's touch.

Tony held up his hands as a lame defence.

"Sorry."

Anthony realized there was a story, and that maybe jokes weren't a good idea right now. He really didn't want for Jasper not to trust him.

It was quiet between them before Jasper sighed, shaking his head.

For a moment Tony thought he'd blew it.

Then, Jasper pulled up the bottom of his sweater and tugged it off, showing off his white t-shirt and exposing his arms.

The light of the moon made them easier to see. The scars. A blue hue cast over Jasper's inner arms but the scars lit up in a white glow.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Jasper began to regret his decision, believing that Anthony would turn tail and run for the hills.

But he didn't.

Instead, he surprised Jasper by grabbing his hands and examining the scars closer.

"You have no idea. The things I've had to do. I'm..." Jasper's voice faltered as Anthony began tracing the scars, realizing they were bite marks.

"Who did this to you?" Tony mumbled, but Jasper could have heard even if it was whispered.

"I lost count." Jasper stated simply. "There were so many that I had to-... a bad person made me do bad things... and these are my reminders." He tried to explain it in the lightest terms.

Jasper was putty in Anthony's hands as the brunet ran his finger tips along the flawed skin.

"I was a monster."

Tony's head shot up at that word.

"No." The Boy stated firmly.

"Tony you don't understand I-"

"I know." Tony interrupted. "Your past isn't you. It doesn't define you. Mistakes aren't who you are, they're who you become."

Jasper stayed quiet as Anthony used one hand to take off his nasal cannula, the other preoccupied with Jasper's.

Then, Tony gently wrapped his arms around the back of Jasper's neck, tucking his head under the blond's chin.

Jasper very slowly returned the hug, squishing his body against Tony's.


	29. TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. don't worry, cowboy !

— ANTHONY WAS INCREDIBLY TIRED BY THE TIME HE FINALLY FELL ASLEEP, staring out the window at the green forest outside.

When he woke up, it was later in the afternoon which Tony guessed was because he had been exhausted the night before.

It was nice, waking up in the Cullen house. He got up and switched out his oxygen tank, again wondering why Dr Cullen had accumulated a bunch of medical supplies in his own home.

Seriously, he thought, I'm pretty sure I saw pregnancy stuff in the back. Why would they even need that? They're vampires? Why would they need any of this?

His questions went unanswered, despite Edward probably hearing them.

That was, of course, besides the point. The point, for Anthony, was that he was now wearing one of Jasper's knitted sweaters.

Once he'd woken up, Tony complained about how wrinkly his shirt was and how it twisted uncomfortably around his stomach. Jasper, instead of telling him to suck it up like Rosalie had, gave Tony a sweater to wear instead.

Both boys saw it as a win.

Anthony got to wear Jasper's sweater, which smelled like something apple-vanilla-y, and Jasper got to see Anthony wearing his sweater.

When Tony asked about the smell of the sweater, the blond had just shrugged and said it was probably from the scented candles that Jasper was constantly burning in his room.

Good enough for him.

Tony even got his own toothbrush, which was also a confusing experience.

Rosalie had taken him to one of the bathrooms and opened a drawer full of colourful packaged toothbrushes.

"Why do you have so many?"

Rosalie shrugged and moved over to kick-slide a trashcan in his direction, the can was full of broken toothbrushes.

"Sometimes we get angry."

Emmett, who was passing by and had leaned in to see what was going on, chuckled and shook his head.

"That's just you, babe."

Rosalie growled in response.

"You just proved his point." Tony laughed, grabbing a light pink toothbrush from the top of the pile.

He would have gone for a green one but he was too lazy to dig through and find one.

Didn't really matter, pink was his second favourite colour anyway.

The rest of the day was just spent lounging around and hanging out with all his favourite Cullens.

Tony, Rosalie and Alice had come together in the blonde's room to listen to music and hang out. Until Alice decided she had to have a talk with Jasper, and disappeared.

Then, just as Rosalie and Tony had finished chucking at some dumb joke he had come up with, Esme leaned into the room.

"Your sister is coming over tonight and I wanted to make it special. Would she enjoy Italiano?" Esme asked.

"Well I'm a sucker for Italian, I'm not really sure about Bella though. We only just got back on speaking terms so her favourite food, to my recollection, is a citrus muffin from when she was thirteen." Tony informed, a little upset that he couldn't provide more information.

Esme frowned slightly before shaking her head, "It'll have to do. Would you two like to help?"

"I'd love to." Anthony smiled, turning to see Rosalie's reaction and nudging her thigh with his foot as they were sitting at opposite ends of the floor.

Tony was surprised to see the beautiful blonde's look of hatred on her face. Not for him, but for the mention of his sister.

Of course, he reminded himself, she hates Bella. Then again, I can't really blame her can I?

Tony simply stood from the floor and wiped his hands on his pants before extending his arm to help Rosalie up.

Esme, who was still standing at the door, expected her adoptive daughter to push Tony away, but was pleasantly surprised when Rosalie gently locked her wrist around the boy's forearm and pulled herself up.

It surprised Rosalie herself for a moment.

Maybe it was his weird humour, or his fragile self, maybe it was the way he treated her with the amount of respect she deserved.

Most likely that last one.

Especially because he had reached out an arm and not a hand.

It seemed like Anthony knew not to push boundaries with a woman. Outstretching a hand looked like a threat. Hands could grab and pull.

An arm, however, was an offer.

It was Rosalie's choice to take it or leave it.

It made Rosalie wonder why Tony knew these things. Which woman in his life has been hurt to the point where he felt the need to step up as part of the male population?

To the point where him: a small, weak, dying boy, felt the need to pick fights with assholes on the street who didn't know what respect meant.

Maybe she'd never know. But god, she was thankful for someone like Tony.

— BY THE TIME BELLA HAD FINALLY ARRIVED, Anthony was stood at a wooden block with a very sharp knife in hand. This would have worried him had Esme not been there, guiding his hand.

Though when he nearly sliced his thumb, the vampires decided it would be best if Tony sticked to something a little less stabby. For everyone's sake.

So instead he washed his hands and moved his oxygen tank so he could stand next to Rosalie and help Emmett put things into the bowl she was holding.

From farther in the kitchen, Carlisle noticed his family's smiles every time Tony burst out with a random fact or joke or embarrassing story.

He couldn't deny, the boy had him smiling too.

"Did you know that sea otters hold hands when they sleep?" Tony asked. Emmett did know that, but decided not to steal the boy's thunder, and so he just shook his head with a shrug.

"To prevent them drifting apart when they sleep, they hold hands." Anthony smiled. "Man- otters are some of the cutest creatures."

"I'm more partial to cats." Rosalie smirked.

"I can see that about you." Tony nodded. "I love cats."

"If you had one, what would you name it?" Esme decided to join this topic of conversation.

"Uhhh... for a boy maybe Thor? Female would be Pepper."

"You seem sure about the Pepper one." Rosalie stated.

"Well yeah because then it'd be like- Pepper and Tony... Right?" Anthony chuckled nervously, realizing how stupid that sounded.

"That's genius." Emmett laughed, shaking his head.

Tony grinned now that Emmett was on board with his antics.

"Hey Rosie, we should get a cat together and name him Jack just so I can make Titanic jokes."

Even Rosalie laughed at that one.

"We'll have to see about that one." She chuckled.

Suddenly, all vampires stopped what they were doing for a moment and looked up.

Tony looked around at them confusedly.

Rosalie noticed his confusion and decided to subtly tell him what was going on.

"Get a whiff of that." The blonde woman spoke. "Here comes the human." She sang, glancing down at Anthony who gave her a thankful look.

Esme smiled excitedly, setting down the cheese she had been working on grating just as Edward and Bella turned the corner.

"Bella," Esme greeted. "We're making Italiano for you."

Anthony's sister looked around at the Cullen's awkwardly.

"Oh."

Edward stepped in to save Bella the embarrassment.

"Bella, this is Esme, my mother for all intents and purposes."

Anthony noticed Emmett wave with the knife in his hand and struggled not to laugh.

"Buon giorno." Bella said.

"Molto bene!" Esme smiled.

Tony turned to Emmett and Rosalie giving them a look at stated he had no idea how to speak Italian. Rosalie simply smirked while Emmett chuckled a bit.

"You've given us an excuse to use the kitchen again. For the past few days, it's just been for Anthony." Carlisle spoke up, wiping his hands off on a dish towel.

"I hope you're hungry." Esme grinned.

Bella played with her hair a bit, "Absolutely."

"She already ate." Edward said with slight anger in his tone.

The bronze haired vampire picked up on a voice resonating in his head.

Hey, Eddie, back off. She's your kind-of vampire mother and you will treat her with respect, asshole.

He looked over to see Anthony standing somewhat behind Rosalie, both of whom were glaring at the new pair to enter room.

Tony noticed Rosalie's shoulder tense up and realized her own anger was reaching its peak. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Rosalie knew it wasn't a warning move, trying to hold her back. It was a move of support. He understood why she was so angry and was telling her that it was okay to freak out.

Rosalie quickly took a step forward, away from Anthony and more importantly, away from his oxygen tank sitting on the floor and promptly crushed the glass bowl between her hands, the pieces clattering in the ground.

"Perfect." She growled.

Tony knew maybe he should have been protecting his sister. But he was gonna let Rosalie have her moment because one- Edward deserved it and Bella had to understand the risks and two- it was so fun to watch.

"Yeah it's just..." Bella tried to explain, looking to Edward and her brother for help.

Tony just leaned back against the counter and watched the blonde woman's fiery attitude unravel, not doing a thing to prevent it and even trying to hold Emmett back from calming Rosalie down.

"Because I know you guys don't eat-" Bella explained.

Esme tried to diffuse the situation, "Of course. It's very considerate of you."

"Just ignore Rosalie, I do." Edward muttered to Bella, despite being in a room where almost anyone could hear it.

"Hey Eddie." Tony called, still leaned back against the counter. "Quit wearing your ass as a hat and realize that Rosie here is trying to give Bella the reality."

At least now they knew where Tony stood on the matter.

Rosalie almost gave up her annoyed, angry face for a second to smile gently at Anthony. She didn't though, but he knew she wanted to.

"Yeah- let's just keep pretending like this isn't dangerous for all of us." Rosalie glared.

"I would never tell anybody... Anything" Bella tried. "I'm sure Tony wouldn't too."

Rosalie scoffed, "Tony isn't my problem, my problem is with you." She stated quietly.

Carlisle decided to ignore that last part, instead focusing on reassuring Bella.

"She knows that."

Emmett spoke up from Rosalie's left side, while Tony moved to her right.

"Yeah, well, the problem is, you two have gone public now-"

"Emmett." Esme warned.

Anthony admired Esme, for trying to welcome him and Bella so easily. But he also knew Rosalie was right, there were risks that Bella had to know. This secret of theirs couldn't get out, it would ruin everything.

"No, Esme, she should know." Anthony spoke softly.

"The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly." Rosalie stepped in, continuing off Tony.

Bella avoided eye contact.

"Badly, as in... I- I would become the meal."

Even Rosalie had to fight off the amused smirk on her face.

Then Anthony noticed Alice from the window behind him, balancing on a tree branch. Close behind her was Jasper.

"Hi, Bella." Alice hopped down, into the room, holding some flowers.

Anthony was more focused on Jasper, who had his gaze fixated on Bella. It was obvious he was already struggling with bloodlust.

Tony remembered what Jasper had said once, that a mate's bond could be overpowering to that feeling.

He hadn't really given it much thought, but supposedly he was Jasper's mate, right?

With this thought in mind, he pulled Jasper closer to him, wrapping the blond's arms around his own waist so Tony's back was against Jasper's chest.

Jasper seemed to understand what he was trying to do, and tightened his hold, laying his chin on Anthony's shoulder.

Distract him using his own blood. If Jasper's attention was on Tony, it was less likely that he was going to attack Bella.

By the point the boys had tuned back in, Alice had hugged Bella and formally introduced herself.

Then it came to Jasper, all eyes turned to him. Anthony could feel Jasper's arms tense.

"Sorry, Jasper's our newest vegetarian. It's a little difficult for him." Carlisle explained.

Jasper cleared his throat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He greeted.

Alice turned and handed Anthony some of the flowers she had collected, which he smiled at and leaned his head back into Jasper's shoulder.

"Don't worry cowboy, you're not gonna hurt her." Anthony spoke in a dismissive tone.

Edward looked like he desperately wanted to get Bella out of this situation.

"Alright, uh, I'm gonna take you on a tour of the rest of the house." Edward stated, pulling Bella away.

"Well, we'll see you soon." Alice spoke before the couple disappeared upstairs.

"Clean this up." Esme pointed at the mess of glass on the floor, speaking to Rosalie.

Anthony turned in Jasper's arms, handing him the flowers before turning to help Rosalie clean up the crushed glass.

Though Rosalie immediately insisted that he didn't, not wanting him to accidentally cut himself.


	30. TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. were you trying to kiss me ?

— BY THE TIME ROSALIE HAD FINISHED CLEANING UP THE SHATTERED GLASS, the other Cullens had made Tony a plate of food before dispersing off into different parts of the house.

Jasper stayed with Tony until he finished eating, then they decided to flee to Jasper's room, which Anthony was to see for the first time.

It was sort of the way Tony had expected. Large windows, pristine walls, CDs and books stacked in various places. An area of dark black carpet over the wooden floor.

"Are all of these Emmett's?" Anthony asked, pointing to a stack of comic books on the grey love seat in the corner.

"Most of them."

"Most?" Tony asked.

"Some of them are mine. I found a store nearby and thought I'd check it out." Jasper shrugged, leaning against the wall.

Tony thought about the concept. The simple idea that he could impact Jasper's life to the point of which he's actually invested in one of Tony's interest.

"I see." Anthony nodded, hiding a small smile behind his- or rather Jasper's- sweater sleeve.

Jasper still caught it, and allowed a similar smile to grace his face while looking at the Swan. He leaned back and watched as Tony got familiar with the room.

That quiet and serene moment was interrupted, however when there cane a soft knock on the door.

"Hey," Alice poked her head in, catching the boys' attention. "Tony I just got some new paints, wanna try them out?" She asked, knowing that would be right up Tony's alley.

Anthony glanced at Jasper for a quick second, almost as if asking to make sure their conversations could wait for a later date.

Jasper immediately nodded, despite wanting Tony to himself for a while, he knew it was selfish to keep him from Alice. The two were practically glued together at the hip.

Though, after the talk he'd had with Alice, he was particularly confused as to why she was interrupting any of their time together.

"You need to make your move, Jazz!" She had said, landing on the forest floor with grace.

"How do I know? If he's ready for an advance- I shouldn't just assume!" Jasper exclaimed as he followed after her, a little reluctant to have this conversation.

"He's been ready since he saw you!" She laughed. "It was an immediate attraction for him." Alice spoke assuringly.

"Well what if he wants something spontaneous? He's a romantic- you know that. What if I'm not romantic enough?"

"Look," Alice began in a serious tone. "He's your mate, and he's perfect for you in every way. He's an artist, he's going to be the one to make a masterpiece out of your broken pieces- I know it, I've seen it. With him, nothing has to be spontaneous and perfect- it just has to be you. He's falling in love with you, not the front you want to put up for him."

Maybe the conversation helped him slightly, but that didn't change the nervousness bubbling up in the pit of his paralyzed stomach with every moment he spent in the company of Anthony Swan.

Maybe having Alice with them would be a blessing. Maybe, Jasper could calm his nerves and gather his thoughts for the next time him and Tony would be alone.

So Anthony turned back, agreeing to test out these new paints and, oddly, asking if they were water based.

"I think so." Alice said, furrowing her eyebrows. 

"Perfect." Tony grinned, which Alice returned.

"I'll go get them!" 

Then that left Anthony and Jasper in the room. Alone again.

"We can paint in here right? I promise I'll be extra careful not to get any on the floor." Tony stepped forward to stand next to Jasper and grab one of his hands.

Jasper offered a soft smile, "Don't worry about it."

"Great." Anthony beamed, "And will you be my canvas?"

"Your what?"

— IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES FOR ALICE TO GET EVERYTHING SET UP, and for Anthony to briefly explain the concept of 'body art'.

"Just your arm though- nothing too crazy, I swear." Tony attempted to convince.

Jasper was already on board. He's seen the kind of things that Tony could do with a paintbrush and he honestly didn't mind being the subject of one of those art pieces. 

But now the only problem was Alice, which was funny because only six or seven minutes ago Jasper was praising her existence.

The problem was- in order for Anthony to paint on Jasper's arm, he'd have to have access. 

Now, Alice had seen Jasper's scars before, his tragic backstory wasn't news to her. But Jasper couldn't help but feel a little awkward when wandering eyes would fall on his scars.

He knew his family never meant it. They supported him and he knew his past would never be held against him in any way. They never judged him or thought of him differently.

But they were still curious, anyone would be. It's simple instinct. People like to stare at the things that are unusual.

Not only was he worried about Alice, but Anthony as well. He felt better the night before, when it was dark and the flawed skin was barely noticeable.

He was scared.

Blatantly terrified every time his sweater's sleeves weren't hugging his arms. 

He didn't want to be different, he didn't want to have these stupid bite marks littering his body, if anything he didn't even want to be a vampire. He wanted to be normal, he wanted to look normal.

He didn't want to feel scared and vulnerable every single time he didn't have long sleeves.

But then, his golden eyed gaze lands on Anthony Swan sitting cross legged on the floor, too preoccupied with opening a package of paintbrushes to notice Jasper's examining stare.

Jasper's eyes caught the oxygen tank on the floor next to the boy, then they followed the tubing to where it was feeding oxygen though his nasal passage and, ultimately, to his lungs.

Anthony looks different too, Jasper thought.

And he didn't feel so scared anymore.

Jasper carefully took off his sweater to show off his loose fitting light grey t-shirt, folding it and putting it on the love seat in the corner of the room.

Once he was done with that, Tony reached up a hand and guided Jasper to sit next to him, absentmindedly examining paintbrush sizes.

Alice had grabbed an actual canvas and held it in her lap, but was preoccupied with watching the two boys interact.

From her perspective, she was incredibly proud of Jasper for revealing that part of his life to his mate, and she was proud of Tony for seemingly accepting it so easily.

Needless to say, her smile only widened while Tony's right hand held Jasper's left with a gentle grip, before bringing a paintbrush up to his pale skin.

The whole time, Alice stayed relatively quiet, trying to make room for her favourite boys to chat with each other.

Anthony constantly muttered small comments under his breath about the paint, maybe critiquing the way he used it or just cussing himself out when he screwed up. The words were so quiet and jumbled that not even the vampires in the room could tell.

Then there was Jasper, who just stared at the brunet holding his hand. The way his hair fell a certain way, the way his eyebrows furrowed when he was focusing, when he put the paintbrush between his teeth to grab something, the way Tony's eyes lit up when he did something he thought looked good.

He was just enthralled by this boy, sitting in front of him, painting out his masterpiece on Jasper's arm.

He hadn't been paying attention to what the painting was, he was barely even noticing the feeling of the paint on his marble textured skin.

After focusing for a minute, he noticed the mix of blues and purples with flecks of white. Jasper didn't quite know that it was meant to be, but he was sure Anthony had some sort of vision.

Even Tony was impressed how content Jasper seemed, despite sitting perfectly still for minutes on end.

"You can relax if you want." Anthony muttered slightly louder than all those other incoherent, passing mumbles.

Alice had also noticed how stiff Jasper was, but didn't want to say anything about it.

Jasper shook his head, "I don't wanna mess you up."

Tony glanced up at him for a moment with a look of adoration.

"I'm sure I'd mess up anyway." He laughed.

— IT TOOK HOURS FOR ANTHONY'S ART TO LOOK THE WAY HE WANTED IT TO. By the time it had become a comprehensible painting, the trio had listened to two albums- both from bands that Tony didn't recognize but rather enjoyed.

Alice refused to show either boy her work, preferring to leave it as a surprise, but she had the perfect angle to see Tony's work.

Jasper's scars had been painted over in a dark galaxy, individual bite marks had become parts of constellations and some that were particularly circular had become a planet, moon or sun.

It was like Jasper had an amplified form of the night sky ripping through his skin.

Neither Alice nor Jasper could deny, it was beautiful.

Alice had noticed the way Jasper was watching Tony, eyes following every move and examining all the little quirks Tony would display while painting.

She noticed the lovestruck appearance of her foster brother's smile, and smiled herself.

"I'm gonna go look for a different orange," Alice said, standing and grabbing the attention of the two boys. "I'll be right back." She excused herself, leaving the room with canvas in hand and closing the door behind her.

Jasper looked back down at his arm, and the paint that clung there.

"D'you like it?" Anthony asked nervously, noticing Jasper's stare.

"He's an artist," Alice's voice resonated in the back of Jasper's mind. "He's going to be the one to make a masterpiece out of your broken pieces-"

"It's beautiful." Jasper nodded with a light smile.

"Good..." Anthony tried to hide his face as his lips turned upwards. "That's good."

It was quiet between them for a moment before Tony spoke up again.

"Rosie and I should get a cat together, opinions?" He asked, leaning closer to detail a planet on Jasper's arm.

"I've always preferred cats." Jasper shrugged the shoulder that wasn't attached to the painted arm.

"Y'know for some reason I could guess that. Emmett seems like a dog person though. Anyway- I just think Rose and I should get a cat that we can name Jack so I can persistently hum 'My Heart Will Go On' whenever they're together. I feel like I'd get smacked on a regular basis but wow- it would be so worth it." Anthony rambled, laughing between words and unaware of Jasper's adoring eyes on him.

Just as Tony was going to make a comment about getting a cat named Pepper, he looked up from his painting only to realize too late that Jasper's face was a lot closer than before. 

So consequently, the boys' knocked into each other harshly. Not hard enough to be painful for Anthony, but enough to be embarrassing.

"Shit!" Tony hissed under his breath.

"I'm so sorry," Jasper's accent became heavier as he began rambling an apology.

"No- no, Jazz it's fine, I-..." Anthony laughed, trying to calm the blond down before he realized something. "Wait... were you-... were you trying to kiss me?"

It wasn't that far of a leap, Jasper's face had been way too close to be unintentional.

This was the point where Jasper's nervous feeling was cranked up to a hundred.

"Uh, maybe?" Anthony raised an eyebrow, a slight almost unnoticeable amused glint in his eyes. Jasper sighed, "Yes." He admitted. "I'm sorry- I should have asked,"

Anthony knew Jasper was going to start rambling again so with a small, nervous smile on his face, Tony pressed their lips together. Properly, this time.

Jasper was caught off guard and he momentarily stopped breathing as Tony's hand slid up to rest against Jasper's neck. 

It took only seconds for Jasper to become grounded again, beginning to kiss back.

There were no fireworks like how they advertised in movies or explosions like they were written in the passages of books.

But damn, did it feel good.


	31. THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. let's fall in love !

— THE DAY HAD BEGUN TO BLEED INTO NIGHT BY THE TIME EDWARD AND BELLA MADE AN APPEARANCE IN THE HOUSE AGAIN. Though it was almost certain they instantly regretted it.

"Edward, you're an idiot!" An angry voice greeted them as the owner of said voice entered the room, Alice and Jasper hot on the boy's heels. 

Bella sighed, almost guessing the conversation to come.

"You took her tree climbing? Do you realize how uncoordinated she is? She struggles with her feet on the damn floor- when it comes to walking, this loser," He pointed to Bella, who shuffled awkwardly. "Is a few fries short of a happy meal, lemme tell you, and you decide to go rippin' up trees like some sort of rabid squirrel? Nah-uh, speed and height are not her forte my friend, we need to keep her as close to the ground as possible!" Anthony snapped out, taking a few deep breaths after.

"I'm sorry?" Edward offered, making Emmett, who had recently entered the room with Rosalie, snicker.

Tony nodded with a glare, "Damn right you're sorry, now go to your room."

"I'm driving Bella home."

"Then get in your fuckin' car and get gone." Tony mockingly made a gesture towards the door. Edward decided instead of arguing, he'd just get in his silver Volvo and leave.

Emmett continued to audibly laugh as Edward and Bella shuffled towards the door.

Sure, when you weren't on the receiving end of Anthony Swan's anger, it was hilarious. The things he said in anger meant nothing to him and it showed.

But when you were being yelled at, threatened or even looked at in a dirty way by Tony, you were nervous. That was just facts.

He may be thin and frail looking but at the same time some of his closest friends were either genius, ex army, or vampire, and what was that to say about him?

"If you crash the car on the way home, I'm gonna kill you." Tony stated as a last remark.

"What if he's already double dead?" Emmet asked, despite knowing that was highly unlikely.

"That's not gonna stop me." Anthony muttered coldly, watching the bronze haired vampire as he followed Bella out of the house while Alice laughed at the 'double dead' comment.

"Okay- I think that's enough anger from you tonight." Jasper spoke up, stepping behind Tony to wrap his arms carefully around the boy, trying to calm him down without his empathetic abilities.

"Woah- Jasper." Emmett's attention was caught by Jasper's arm, which was on full display. A rare occurrence.

Though Emmett probably wasn't pointing out that, but rather the paint along Jasper's arm.

The rough skin was caked in paint, the dark colours were a sharp contrast to his pale complexion. 

Jasper peeked over Anthony's shoulder to look at the beautiful galaxy.

"That looks so cool, man." Emmett commented, leaning forward to see the painting better.

"Thanks." Tony said, leaning back into Jasper.

"You did that?" Rosalie asked.

Tony nodded.

"It's incredible."

Tony bit his lip awkwardly, glancing at the painted galaxy before grabbing Jasper's hand and pulling out of his grip.

"I should get home. Make sure Edward isn't being an ass or whatever." Anthony rolled his eyes.

Jasper allowed a small smirk to tug at his lips while he adoringly watched Tony pull him closer to the door.

"I guess I'm driving?" Jasper asked.

Tony's anger was completely gone by this time. He wasn't even sure if it was real anger in the first place.

"Please?" Tony stopped in his tracks.

Jasper chuckled and caught Emmett's keys as they flew through the air toward his head, sending a nod of thanks to Emmett for letting them use his Jeep again.

"Oh- shit, hang on I gotta grab my shirt." Tony remembered he was wearing Jasper's sweater and didn't want to leave behind the shirt that he'd been wearing the day before.

"I've got it," Rosalie stated before speeding up the stairs at an inhuman pace, then appearing in front of Tony with his grey long sleeve shirt in hand.

Her movement had caused a slight breeze to run through Anthony's hair, messing it up slightly.

But that was the least problematic thought in his mind.

He was frozen, and moved like a robot to grab the article of clothing from he blonde woman's hands.

"You okay there, Tone?" Emmett asked, furrowing his eyebrows worryingly.

Tony nodded stiffly.

"I've just- I mean, I-..." Tony tried his best to articulate an intelligent sentence. "All the vampire stuff has been just talk... I've not actually seen anything."

The vampires in the room all stayed silent, waiting for a reaction from Tony to try and gauge what his thoughts were on the topic.

"It's... cool. I guess." Tony shrugged. It was cool, the speed and strength they possessed was something straight out of one of his comic books. But he also had to think about the fact that they were vampires. They constantly thirsted for human blood.

'Cool' was the most respectful word he could muster.

"Hey, lets go." Jasper offered Tony a way out of the conversation.

"Yeah." Anthony agreed, hugging Alice before tucking himself under Jasper's unpainted arm and walking with him.

It was silent between the boys as they got situated in the Jeep, neither knowing what to say.

Jasper made sure Tony had his seatbelt on and had comfortably placed his oxygen tank on the floor of the vehicle before starting it up.

It took a few minutes just to get out of the driveway, out from under the overhang of trees and onto the main road, which was lined with street lamps.

As soon as they got on the road and small patters of rain sounded against the metal contraption, Anthony tapped a messy rhythm against the car door to compliment the weather's.

There was a slight tension between the boys. As if both wanted to say something, but didn't.

Jasper was growing more and more worried as he felt Anthony's emotions weigh in on him. Tony was apprehensive, at what, Jasper couldn't tell,

Finally, Tony spoke up against the lulling rain.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He whispered, knowing fully well that Jasper would hear it.

The Hale took a moment to glance at Tony, trying desperately to find more signs of emotion.

"What idea?"

"Us. Are you sure 'us' is a good idea?." Tony fidgeted with the shirt that lie in his lap.

"Tony-" Jasper began to reassure Anthony, thinking maybe he was having second thoughts about the whole vampire thing.

"I mean- you're over a hundred years old, and you've been looking for your mate for so long and finally, you find that your mate- the person you're supposed to have an incredible bond with, is just a skinny little gay kid that's trying desperately to make the world his home." Anthony stared at the road ahead of them, while Jasper let him rant his feelings. 

The kiss they'd shared earlier had obviously stirred something in him.

"And it won't be my home for long. I'm... dying. Fast. I'm dying faster than I thought- and I don't want to rob you of happiness just because you accidentally fell for a cancer patient. So I'm asking you if you think this is a good idea." Tony stated. "This is your out. You don't ever have to see me again and risk the pain that'll come with it. You can just drop me off at home and never talk to me again." He shook his head slowly and looked down at his oxygen tank, trying to hide his eyes behind his hair.

He didn't want Jasper to leave him.

He really didn't.

But he also knew that if Jasper fell in love with him, it was a set up for heartbreak.

He already knew there was nothing that could be done about his condition, and honesty becoming a vampire wasn't that appealing either. He wasn't about to ask to become a vampire just because he was scared of dying.

Him surviving despite cancer would raise questions in everyone he knew. How could he explain suddenly having been cured?

He would be different. He would thirst for human blood.

Humans.

Like his sister.

Or his father.

Or his friends from Phoenix.

If Tony physically hurt them the way he knows he'd want too, he'd be swallowed in guilt for the rest of his never ending life.

It wasn't appealing. It wouldn't be to anyone, he was sure.

In the middle of these far off thoughts, Anthony hadn't realized Jasper had pulled over to the side of the road.

"Anthony..," Jasper spoke softly, turning his full attention to the brunet in the passenger seat and even reaching over to grab his hand. "I'm not backing out." He said firmly.

"You should." Tony sighed, trying to wipe at his tear filled eyes.

He hated when he cried.

Every time he did, he heard those stupid kids in his head. Those bullies that wouldn't give him a break.

They'd tease him and call him names and when he cried they'd just tease him more.

"Boys aren't supposed to cry!" They would say.

He wasn't allowed to be emotional.

He wasn't allowed to be a lot of things when he was younger.

He couldn't be impulsive or weird, he couldn't wear pink or have anxiety without being ridiculed.

He wasn't even allowed to like guys.

How stupid was that?

Out of all the problems in the world it seemed like society was influencing generations of people to care less about equality or pollution and care more about who held hands with who.

And so, he still cried. Despite those mocking laughs in his head telling him to be a man.

He tried so hard to get them out. He tried telling them off or blocking them into the deeper parts of his mind.

Most times he felt like he was still that kid and he was just holding his hands up to his ears and chanting 'la la la' as an attempt to not hear them.

Thinking about all this, Anthony barely noticed the cold feeling against the side of his face. Though when Tony came around, he realized Jasper had pressed his lips to the side of Anthony's head.

"Fuck, Jazz." Tony groaned, throwing his head back with a small smile, still rubbing around his eyes making the skin an irritated red.

Jasper pulled back in confusion.

"I'm so into you, it's not fair." Anthony shook his head, a larger smile taking over his face.

"Your stupid hot voice and your pretty eyes and your perfect blond hair." Tony laughed. "You're so considerate and careful and kind and just- fuck- you're so wonderful and I hate you." His words were lighthearted, and his voice slightly teasing.

Jasper smiled lightly, an amused and awe-filled glint in his eyes.

"You aren't so bad, yourself." He said, moving his thumb along the back of Tony's hand. "You're so passionate. You're like some sort of Disney prince with extra shots of emotional baggage and crude humour."

"Hey, hey-" Tony laughed. "This emotional baggage? It's designer, okay. Only the height of emotional baggage for me." He said sarcastically.

Jasper smiled, amused at the boy's words, before it fell from his face seriously.

"Tony," he began. "I promise to help you carry that baggage. Until the end, I want to be there for you. I want to have the experience of falling in love with you. We owe each other that much." Jasper stated, turning his attention back to the road and beginning to drive again.

Anthony sighed and looked down at their intertwined fingers.

It took a few moments to get a reaction, Tony instead let the patter of rain fill the void of silence.

He knew it was only going to hurt in the end, but he really couldn't help it. Jasper and the other Cullens had become important to him now.

"Okay," he finally nodded, looking at Jasper with a calm and examining stare. "Let's fall in love."


	32. THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. so you're a witch !

— ON MONDAY MORNING WHEN ANTHONY SWAN ROLLED OUT OF BED, he was still extremely tired. 

Part of him understood that the witchy power stone had been helping him sleep, and he sort of wished it was still working.

Either way, he still had to get up and go to school.

Isabella was in the kitchen situating her binders when Tony's Iron Man socks hit the bottom step.

"Want to ride with me today?" She called while Anthony tossed his school bag next to the door and wheeled his oxygen tank to the counter so he could grab a piece of toast that had just popped up.

"Just you and me or is Eddie gonna be there too?" Tony asked, stuffing the toast in his mouth to hang from his lips while he opened the fridge.

"Just us." Bella ducked under Tony's arm to get back to the counter, grabbing orange juice out of the fridge as she went. Tony waited for her to be out of the way before he grabbed the milk carton and the glass that Bella handed to him.

They stood side by side at the counter, pouring their individual drinks.

Once Tony had a full glass, he took a few bites of the toast before handing it to Bella while he put the orange juice and milk carton away. Taking the bread back and picking up his milk, him and Bella clinked glasses before downing what was there.

"Where's Dad?" Tony asked as he used the back of his hand to wipe away his milk moustache.

"They're trying to hunt down the thing that's been causing all those attacks, so he went in earlier." Bella explained, departing to the living room to grab her keys off the coffee table.

"Ahh, I see." Tony nodded, shoving the toast back in his mouth while he rinsed his glass.

"Edward thinks they're vampires." Bella spoke.

Tony nodded, drying his hands off on a dish towel and taking a bit of toast. "So does Carlisle." He said, talking with his mouth full.

"Tony, that's disgusting." Bella's nose wrinkled, to which Tony just stuck out his tongue to put the food on better display. "Ew."

Anthony finished the toast and grabbed his bag from the doorway, slinging it over his shoulder while Bella opened the front door for him.

The two Swan siblings got into the rusty red truck and within minutes they were on their way to school.

"Didn't you wear that sweater for most of the weekend?" Bella glanced to the passenger side where Tony was playing with his sweater paws.

"Yes, your point being?" Anthony asked, not looking up from his sleeves.

"You never wear the same thing for three days." Bella pointed out.

"This is an exception, it's comfy as fuck." Tony snuggled deeper into the sweater.

"Tony..." Bella sighed with an amused smile at her brother's swearing, but didn't bother to scold him.

"So I guess you're on that relationship level where you steal each others clothes?" Isabella spoke, pointing out the fact that the sweater Tony was wearing was not, in fact, his.

"Hey man- I know for a fact that you stole Edward's sunglasses." Anthony defended.

"He has like- eight pairs. He'll live." Bella shrugged.

"It's never sunny in Forks what's even the purpose of eight pairs of sunglasses?" Tony asked, peering out the window at the rainy weather.

"I mean- they travel a lot don't they? Plus- if you have eight pairs then you don't have to worry about losing the other seven."

"Okay- technically, all of that was true." Tony stated as they pulled into the school parking lot.

It was quiet for a minute as Bella pulled into the parking spot.

"Don't forget, we're having dinner with Charlie at the Carver Cafe again tonight." Bella reminded.

Getting out of the truck, Bella bid her goodbyes and went off to find Edward while Tony spotted Jasper across the lot leaning against Emmett's Jeep, and rushed toward him.

"Hey there, cowboy." Anthony spoke up with a smile, wrapping his arms around Jasper in a hug.

Jasper smiled softly as their noses touched, "Hello, darlin'."

As always with that pet name, Tony practically melted, but he tried to keep up a flirty facade by chuckling.

"I told you, that nickname sounds so gay." Anthony whined.

Jasper laughed, leaning their foreheads together.

"Tony, we're dating."

Anthony raised an eyebrow and pulled back a few inches.

"I mean- I assumed we- I thought that we- you- I-" Jasper struggled to cover his mistake.

"Chill out, Texas." Tony laughed, and leaned forward to place a kiss on the corner of Jasper's lips.

Jasper stiffened slightly, tightening his hold on Tony while he looked over the boy's shoulder.

"What's up?" Anthony didn't bother looking behind him, still staring at the blond vampire.

Jasper's jaw tightened.

"Nothing." He lied.

Tony glanced over his own shoulder to see what Jasper was looking at, only to see a group of students huddled together and looking up at the couple every once in a while.

"Ah, yeah. Get used to that for a while." Anthony sighed. "Not only are we, deathly ill and looks like shit-" he pointed to himself. "And actually a god and looks like how hot chocolate tastes." He pointed to Jasper. "But we are also two people of the male gender. We're an odd fuckin' pair, get ready for judgement."

Anthony decidedly pulled away after placing a kiss on Jasper's jawline.

"I gotta get to class, I'll see you in history." Tony lazily mock saluted as he walked away.

"Yeah, I'll see you." Jasper muttered. "And hey, Tony." He called.

Tony turned and raised his eyebrows.

"I like your sweater." 

Anthony grinned and did a mock curtsy while the blond smirked, a hint of adoration in his eyes.

— ART AND HISTORY FLEW BY LIKE A PASSING FREIGHT TRAIN, barely having enough time to appreciate the periods. 

All throughout art class Anthony had been trying to discreetly come up with a nice way to ask Alice to prom.

Maybe it was the cheesy romantic in him that wanted his friend's lives to be the best they could be.

But the idea that Alice had always wanted to go to prom yet never had, gave Tony a feeling of responsibility.

He had to do something dramatic.

It just wouldn't be him otherwise.

Besides, Alice deserved the big show.

Though when he got to history it was Jasper that reminded him, Alice could see the future.

It was gonna be really difficult to surprise someone who could see the future.

So instead he just decided to put that on the back burner for now.

When Anthony and Jasper's free period came around they, like clockwork, made their way to the medical building.

They didn't really expect Reyes to be there this time. He hadn't been there for the past couple of days and they were almost convinced they'd never see him again.

And yet, it was Reyes that nervously greeted them at the door.

"Hello, Blue." Tony greeted confidently.

"Swan." Reyes offered an awkward smile as he walked with the couple to the seats.

It was silent for a few minutes before Tony broke the ice.

"Where have you been?"

Reyes cleared his throat, "Uh- I've been preparing for my sister to move in with me."

"Ah, how old is your sister?" Jasper piped up, trying to put himself in the conversation.

"She's- uh... nineteen.. twenty, I believe?" The Englishman furrowed his eyebrows in thought, avoiding eye contact as he leaned down to grab the oxygen tank.

"And she decided she needed a change of scenery? Or..." 

"I'm pretty sure she just wants to get away from Mum. It doesn't take much for that woman to go mental." Reyes shrugged with a slight eye roll. "I mean- I love her, I really do- she's my mum- but she knows how to push all the wrong buttons... I'll be right back."

Once Reyes had gone to get the change of oxygen, Tony unzipped his bag and pulled out the amethyst, stuffing the rock into this pants pocket before Reyes could come back.

Gripping tight on Jasper's hand, Tony spoke up.

"Are we sure it's him?" He asked.

Jasper nodded, "Almost positive."

Anthony turned to look at Jasper, a bit of hesitation on his face.

"Almost. Meaning we could call him out for being a goddamn witch and he could call and submit us to a psych ward. Great, that makes my weekend plans a helluva lot easier." Tony stated sarcastically.

"He's the only logical person." Jasper assured.

"Yeah," Anthony sighed, trying to relax his shoulders. "I guess."

Reyes came back and it was quiet between them until Tony finally spoke up.

"Hey Reyes," he began, digging into his pocket and holding up the shiny purple amethyst to the fluorescent lights. "This doesn't happen to be yours, right?" 

Reyes hummed and looked up, only for his expression and facade to fall. Quick as lightening, Reyes glanced around to see if anyone was watching while simultaneously grabbing the amethyst and shoving it into his white coat pocket.

"Don't just- pull it out- I wasn't supposed to give it to you in the first place!" He rushed.

Jasper and Tony exchanged a look, now knowing for sure that Reyes was something, and maybe their witch theory was correct.

"We've been doing a damn good job of hiding, I can't risk my entire society just because you decide to wave around an enchanted stone in public." Reyes continued.

"Sorry- enchanted?" Anthony went to ask before being hushed by Jasper, who was looking at the doorway off to the side.

"There's like- seventeen minutes until lunch, I'll explain some things then." The nurse rushed as he leaned forward again to situate Anthony's oxygen tank.

Just as he began doing that, another school nurse with blonde hair and glasses walked into the room, through the door Jasper had been looking at, and began looking through some files.

It was incredibly awkward.

— WHEN LUNCH CAME AROUND AND STUDENTS HAD PRACTICALLY FLOODED THE CAFETERIA, Reyes Jaylin sat down at the Cullen Clan's reserved table.

"So this is him?" Emmett asked.

Anthony confirmed with a nod as he plopped down next to Jasper, stealing the pudding cup off the blond's tray, knowing he wasn't going to eat it anyway.

"I'm not gonna lie," Reyes began. "I'm a bit nervous to be sitting with a coven of vampires... we aren't really supposed to interact with anyone outside our kind." Reyes glanced around the table. "But, I can tell you're somewhat safe."

Rosalie leaned forward with a glare, "Are you sure?"

"Your eyes are gold and you're all friends with a dying cancer patient." Reyes pointed out.

Emmett shrugged with a laugh, "I mean- he isn't wrong."

"How did you figure it out? Me being a witch, I mean." Reyes asked, looking at Anthony.

"Your glowing rock kinda gave it away." Bella stated as she sat down at the table next to Edward.

"Glowing-... damn it." Reyes' face fell and he laid his forehead against the table. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it." With each 'damn it' he continued to smack his head against the table, making the wood vibrate with hollow sound.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

Reyes groaned in response, not lifting his head, "I'm a disappointment."

"Why's that?" Tony asked nonchalantly, grabbing a white plastic spoon to eat the pudding cup with.

"The enchantment wore off. I thought I was better than that." He whined.

"Okay- explain." Jasper leaned back in his seat, throwing an arm on the back of Tony's.

"I'm so gonna get trialed for this-... basically, yeah, witches are a thing, big whoop." Reyes started, still upset about the enchantment thing wearing off, or whatever it was.

"Hang on- why are you called witches?" Emmett asked. "Why wouldn't you be a wizard or warlock or something?"

"Uh, because we don't revolve around gender and it hasn't been changed from 'witches' since the Salem trials. Maybe the council is just lazy, I'm not sure- and before you ask, getting trialed today is not the same as the Salem trials, it's completely different." Reyes rambled, still slightly nervous in the presence of all these vampires.

"But um... yeah. Essentially we've got the blood of druids in our systems which gives us our element abilities and also helps us to enchant certain healing properties for them to actually work. That why I gave you the amethyst. There's nothing that can cure cancer but I figured maybe if you could actually sleep you'd feel a bit better? I was really only trying to help."

"Yeah, man. It did help, thank you." Anthony nodded, offering a smile while he leaned up against Jasper.

Alice moved to the edge of her seat, very invested in learning witch culture, "I did some reading, but there's not a lot about witches- you said you have 'elemental abilities'? Is that specific to one element?"

Reyes had pulled a sandwich in a ziplock bag out of his shoulder bag and took a bite while he nodded.

"Uh.. as witches we're all- I guess, for lack of a better term, 'granted' with an element. There are the elements that are seen as more powerful like... fire, earth, darkness and water- stuff like that. They're higher class. Then there's the 'lesser' elements like bugs, specific metals, grass, some just have an element of beauty." He paused to take another bite. 

"My sister, Delphine, she's got water. A higher classed element. She hardly ever practices and yet she's still a damn hero." Reyes glared bitterly at the ziplock bag on the table.

"I'm guessing you're a lower classed?" Rosalie spoke.

Reyes looked down, embarrassed.

"Feathers. I have a lower classed element of feathers." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I practice constantly but I'm still at a level of manipulation, not conjuration... and obviously my enchantments are shit as well."

"Hey, no worries, you'll get there." Emmett tried to support.

"Thank you." Reyes smiled, glancing around the table again.

It took only seconds of silence for Alice to jump back into conversation, curious about witches and asking a billion questions.


	33. THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. a boy who's a friend !

— THE REST OF THE DAY PASSED BY RATHER SMOOTHLY. The Cullens, plus Anthony and Bella, gathered around the old, half plastic, cafeteria lunch table and listened to a witch's stories.

At this point, almost nothing sounded crazy to Tony anymore. Vampires? Shape shifters? Sure, let's add witches to the mix, why the hell not?

Though when the sun fell, by the end of it all, Tony was very much human.

Who happened to have a vampire boyfriend.

The idea was still fresh in his mind when he hopped up into the passenger seat of Bella's truck after just saying goodbye to the Cullens and Reyes.

His boyfriend. Jasper Hale.

It was a strange feeling. Welcomed, but strange to finally have a face to the position.

So far Tony was really only gay in theory. He'd never had a boy that would want to put up with him through his chemo.

Maybe it wasn't just his cancer.

Those were the thoughts that ate at him when his mind was in a bad place.

Was it because of his hyper comic book obsession, when he read out loud or ranted about some new socks? Was it his music taste and how it constantly varied? Maybe it was because he liked to talk a lot when he painted. Or was it his un athleticism and how he wasn't toned like a model?

Then he'd lock eyes with Jasper and he thought, maybe they never put up with me because someone out there wouldn't have to.

Alice had seen the future, and Tony knew Jasper was the one. The one that would love him for him, and not even consider the other things that made him so 'dislikable' in his own eyes.

"So what would your friends think of your new vampire boyfriend?" Bella pulled Tony out of his thoughts as she started the vehicle and pulled out of the parking lot.

Anthony allowed a lazy smile to grace his face as he thought about Liv and Daniel back in Arizona, looking out the window at the grey sky above.

"Are we talking- if they knew he was a vampire?" Tony asked, tapping his fingers against his leg.

Bella shrugged, "Sure, why not."

Anthony let out a low whistle.

"Danny would get protective, thats just how he is. He'd probably try intimidation but ultimately get too overwhelmed with questions about vampires." He laughed, imagining Daniel meeting Jasper.

"And Liv? What's her stance on vampires?" Isabella asked, liking the way her brother's eyes lit up.

"Kinky."

Bella almost slammed the breaks.

"What?" She yelled.

Anthony began to lose it, laughing at Bella's reaction and her bright red face.

"If I were to tell her that I had a vampire boyfriend, she would say 'kinky'. Guaranteed." Tony chuckled.

"You can't just assume she'd say that- you're completely generalizing her." Bella rolled her eyes lightly.

"Ten bucks; that's exactly what she'll say." Tony smirked, pulling out his phone to send a message.

"You're on." Isabella agreed, hoping Liv Marigold had a better moral compass than what Anthony thought.

Tony  
Hey liv, how are you babe, alright so hypothetically: if I had a boyfriend who was a vampire, what would you say?

"And now we wait." Tony stated, turning off his phone for a second until it vibrated in his hand almost instantly.

"Apparently not for long." The brunette woman said, pulling into the Carver Cafe parking lot.

"You owe me ten buckaroos, my friend." Anthony laughingly wheezed.

Bella glanced over incredulously for a second before going back to searching for a parking space.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Tony held up the phone once Bella parked, so she could see the previous message of 'if I had a boyfriend who was a vampire, what would you say?'

and under that, in big obnoxious letters:

Liv  
wHAT A KINK

Bella reluctantly dug through her purse and pulled out the ten dollars for Anthony, who pocketed it with a grin.

Tony  
thank you for being predictable, you just earned me ten moolah

Liv  
bitch share

Tony  
Five, take it or leave it

Liv  
dEAL

Tony  
Tell Danny I say hi

Looking up from his phone, Bella had already gotten out of the truck and had run into Mike Newton on her way to the door of the little diner.

Tony left his bag in the truck, pulling the straps of his oxygen tank over his shoulder before he got out.

"-he just looks at you like you're something to eat." Anthony heard the last of Mike's sentence and decided to cut in.

"Hey there, Mikey." Tony greeted, wrapping an arm around Bella's shoulders to pull her away. "Might wanna pull up those jeans, you're giving everyone a great plumber shot." He stated, leading Bella to the door.

"Were you looking at my ass?" Mike asked as he lazily hiked up his pants.

"Mike, it's hard not to see your ass when it's not in your denim." Shooting him a thumbs up, this was the last thing Tony said before stepping into the Carver Cafe and spotting Charlie already sitting at their favourite table.

"Sorry we're late." Bella excused, "I had a biology project."

Charlie waved it off.

"I ordered you the spinach salad, I hope that's okay." Charlie told Bella, already knowing the Caesar salad he'd ordered for Tony was the right choice.

"You should order one for your self next time." Isabella stated as the waitress handed them their food. "Cut back on the steak."

"She's not wrong, Dad." Anthony nodded as he grabbed the metal fork next to his plate.

"Hey, I'm as healthy as a horse." Charlie stated.

"Uh, say, chief... the boys wanna know, did you find anything down by the Queets river today?" Cora, the pretty brown haired waitress asked.

Tony looked up from his food to see a table of men next to them, who had leaned slightly to listen to what Charlie had to say.

Bella caught her brother's eyes and they shared a curious look.

"Yeah, we found a bare human footprint but it looks like whoever that is... is headed east, so Kitsap County sheriff's gonna take over from here." Charlie informed, remembering the day he'd had.

Anthony's eyes widened slightly as he glanced over at Bella, who had the same look.

"Okay... I just hope they catch him fast." Cora sighed, leaving the trio to their devices.

It was silent for a moment as they all took bites of their food.

"Looks like your friends are flaggin' ya." Charlie nodded to the window, where Mike Newton was making a fool of himself.

"That's embarrassing." Anthony muttered, rolling his eyes as he grabbed another bite of his salad.

"It's okay if you wanna join 'em." Charlie assured. "I'm just gonna turn in early anyway."

"Me too." Bella agreed.

Charlie sighed, "Bella it's Friday night. Go out. Looks like the Newton boy's got a bit smile for ya."

"Yeah he's a good buddy."

Tony internally groaned at how oblivious Bella was sometimes.

"What about you, Tony, what are you doing tonight?" Charlie asked.

"Uh.... Maybe I'll paint?"

"Do either of my kids have a life?"

"No?" Tony laughed. "Actually I was hoping to talk with you tonight."

"Alright." Charlie gave his son a smile, though in the back of his head he was slightly curious about what Anthony wanted to talk about.

Deciding to leave that for later, the chief came back to Bella, knowing they wouldn't spend as much time together as him and Tony would.

"What about any of these other yahoos in town? Any of them interest you?" The man asked.

Bella glanced at her plate with an awkward smile.

"Dad, we're gonna talk about boys?"

"Yeah, I guess not."

Tony hated to see the way Bella was pushing their father away. He really hated it.

He knew it was probably because she was more scared of getting too close to him, only to have Renée rip her away again.

Tony wanted for Bella to have an actual relationship with their father, but she wasn't even trying.

Trying to relieve some of the awkward tension at the table, Anthony raised his hand mockingly.

"Don't worry Dad, I'll talk about boys with you."

— ANTHONY HAD DECIDED TO LET BELLA HAVE THE TRUCK TO HERSELF, and instead he got into the passenger seat of Charlie's police cruiser.

The whole ride home, the two male swans just quietly sang along to the soft rock playing on the radio station Charlie had tuned into.

Every once in a while, Charlie would look over at his son with a slight smile, wondering how on earth he'd gotten so lucky to have a kid like that.

When they pulled up in front of the house and got out, Charlie quickly grabbed a beer from the fridge while Anthony brought his school bag in from Bella's truck. Then, the two situated themselves comfortably in the garage so Tony could paint and Charlie could sit back on the love seat and enjoy his drink.

"So I thought we should sit and talk for a bit, update each other on our lives. I think it's something we need to do more often. Preferably as a family but I guess Bella is... Well, she's Bella." Anthony shrugged, picking up a brush. "So you guys found a human footprint? What do you think that's about?"

Charlie laid back so his head was on the arm rest and he could see what Anthony was painting, making it look like some wild form of therapy session.

"Honestly, we have no idea. Hopefully whoever it is gets caught soon enough, though." He sighed tiredly.

Tony nodded understandingly, picking up a tube of paint.

"Y'know," Charlie cut through the brief moment of silence. "I have absolutely no idea where you got your talent from."

"Are you saying both you and Renée have no artistic talent?" Tony laughed.

"I'm saying your mother and I wouldn't be able to draw a straight line even if we had a ruler to assist." Charlie chuckled, agreeing with Tony's statement.

Anthony shrugged, "Well its never really about talent. More so it's how much you practice."

"Ah, that must be it. I remember you'd go through close to one whole sketchbook a month. You had plenty of practice." Charlie reminisced. "I think I still have a box full of them somewhere."

"Oh, god." Anthony cringed. "Let them stay in that 'somewhere'." He laughed, remembering the awful drawings he'd made in his youth.

"Actually- Dad... I also wanted to let you know... I kinda- sorta have a- uh.. boy who happens to be a friend-" 

"Are you trying to tell me you finally got a boyfriend?" 

"Yes?"

"What's his name?" Charlie asked, and Anthony couldn't tell what his father's emotions were.

"Jasper."

"The Cullen boy?"

Anthony nodded.

It was silent for a minute and Tony tried to hide his freaking out by biting his lip and shutting up before he said something stupid.

"I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later." Charlie shrugged and Tony looked up in surprise. "I saw you two, that day you came home from the hospital. When he held your hand and you got all smiley."

Anthony blushed heavily, remembering that his bedroom door had been open that day.

"He seems like a good kid. You just gotta let him know that he will treat my son right and if he doesn't also let him know that I happen to own guns."

"Dad!"

"Just tellin' the truth, kid."

Though deep down, Anthony was glad Charlie had seemed to accept their relationship.

And Charlie was just glad Tony was finally allowing himself to be loved, after denying it for so many years for fear that he'd only hurt someone in the end. He'd let his cancer control his life for so long, and Charlie was happy he'd finally found someone that was worth taking back control.


	34. THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. prom ?

— THE WEEK WAS MORE UNEVENTFUL THAN IT USUALLY WAS, which was nice for Anthony, who had been trying to put his promposal plans in action.

It was really difficult when the woman he was trying to surprise could see the future. Yet, so far, Tony had been doing a pretty good job of throwing her off.

He had everything prepared, and he made sure not to tell any of the Cullens because he knew for a fact that none of them could keep a secret. Rosalie was really close to getting it out of him- but he held his ground, knowing if more people knew it was more likely that Alice would find out.

In the mean time- he tried to keep his thoughts on the idea of going to prom with Jasper or as a sad form of buddy date with Bella. He hoped his thoughts were enough to convince Alice's powers.

So far it seemed to be working, so that was a perfect win for Tony.

On another note, the Cullen-Swans had practically adopted Reyes into their group. 

The Englishman had many stories about witch culture. Their abilities, training, their laws.

It was a lot to take in, and with Anthony's forgetful and dismissive nature, all the information seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

"So- basically- you're a criminal?" Anthony asked, unlocking Bella's truck and grabbing the plastic bag that he had situated in the back.

"Not- I'm not a criminal." Reyes defended, standing back with Jasper, who was holding Tony's school bag.

"I mean- it seems like you are." Jasper pointed out, watching as Anthony closed the door of the truck and they all began walking to the cafeteria.

"I'm- okay, y'know, technically there are no written laws against it, it's just strongly regarded as dangerous and stupid." Reyes explained with an exasperated tone.

"So you're dangerous and stupid?" Jasper asked.

"Yes."

Tony wheezed a chuckle at that, almost stopping because of the slight pain it sent through his chest, igniting the constant dull ache that was always there.

"So the only reason no one has heard about witches in all these years is because they've been in hiding?" Tony asked, ignoring the burning feeling.

"Kind of? It was mutually decided that we wouldn't advertise." Reyes stated, hiking up his shoulder bag. "We aren't supposed to interact with shifters and vampires specifically, just because in most cases they're more destructive than humans. Though after the Salem trials that kind of derailed and now we just avoid showing off to anyone."

"So we're the first to hear about witches in how long?"

"A decade or so, at least. Sometimes witches slip up because of their Dyrbáánd relationships but-"

"Their what?" Tony asked.

"Dyrbáánd. Der-bond. It's also been called a direbond. It's the rare bond between two beings, it's like a-... a magnetic force pulls them together by the heart. They're drawn to each other, and they more often than not, can draw off each other's strength. They protect with their lives, emotionally and physically." Reyes adjusted his hand on the strap of his bad, the other boys listening intently. "I'm almost surprised you haven't heard of it." Reyes shrugged.

"Why would I have heard of it?"

"Well- because you have one? The bond can be between anyone. Human, vampire, animal, witch, shifter- though any one is really uncommon." The witch stated. "I thought you knew that you had one?"

Anthony shook his head with furrowed brows.

"It's fairly obvious who it is."

Tony didn't have time to ask another question as they entered the cafeteria, and his eyes immediately scanned their table for Alice.

Anthony urged Jasper and Reyes to sit down while he approached slower, giving himself time to park his oxygen tank and reach into the plastic bag, pulling out the painted canvas that was in there.

Making sure the painted side was facing him, he felt a small smile fall on his lips while he tapped Alice's shoulder.

Tony knew they didn't really do 'promposals' in Forks, but he also knew that Alice deserved something of the sort.

So when she turned around, Tony's smile widened and he showed off the painting, holding it up to his chest.

It was so... Tony. Which is probably a weird thing to say, but none of the other Cullens seemed surprised at what he'd orchestrated.

Alice held a hand to her mouth and let out a muffled giggle when she saw Anthony. Because the painting held up to his chest- in quite a comedic fashion- was in the form of a black tie and tux, the dark sweater he was wearing only made it look even better.

"Tony, what are you doing?" Alice laughed.

Tony ignored the question, "Alice Cullen," he spoke loudly, gathering a lot of attention from most of the student population- as if their eyes weren't already on that table. "Will you go to prom with me?" Anthony grinned, reaching out to grab Alice's cold hand in his, bringing her to a stand.

Alice's eyes lit up in excitement, and she practically bounced with glee when she nodded.

Anthony let the painting hang at his side when Alice squealed slightly and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"And seriously- no one realized?" Reyes muttered to himself in disbelief, despite being ignored by the group as they were preoccupied with laughing at Tony's painting.

— ALICE HAD DECIDED THAT SHE WOULD MAKE HER PROM DRESS BY HAND, which was an awesome idea in Tony's opinion and he even offered for her to set up in his garage so he could paint and they could talk.

Anthony's little art studio/garage had become a nice little place to hang out after school. Sometimes Bella would curl up on the love seat and finish her homework while Tony painted. Rosalie and Emmett would jokingly model in weird poses for Tony, and he, being ever diligent, would paint them perfectly.

Which is exactly why Emmett and Rosalie now had three separate paintings hung in the Cullen house.

One depicting the couple with scrunched up faces and a finger beneath their nose that had penned moustaches.

Another had a very princess and the frog moment when Emmett had decided to squat for an hour just for fun. 

The final one, Rosalie's favourite, was split into quarters and in each one there was a scene with the couple just holding each other in a way. One with Rosalie perched on Emmett's shoulders, or her holding him bridal style and vice versa, or them just hugging in a weird half-dip.

Needless to say, they'd had plenty of fun with that.

Alice's dress had been coming along well too. She'd told Anthony that she studied fashion design for a while- which wasn't a huge surprise for Anthony.

They'd decided together on a purple colour for their 'theme'. Though, it had been confirmed that Tony would be going black tie. Except theme colour did help with corsage choice.

Besides that, Alice created a dress design that she fell in love with instantly- and she found the perfect material. 

Anthony felt so at peace, sitting in the garage with Alice working away on her dress while he painted and held Jasper's hand, listening to the radio. He'd never felt happier than he was in those moments.

He should have known something like that wouldn't last.

It was like the world was just holding it's breath, waiting for the moment where it would let out a huff of air and let the storm rip everything to shreds,

Calm before the storm.

Well, if that statement wasn't true.

— IT WAS HALF EXPECTED FOR THE DAY TO BE COLD. It was Forks, after all. Though everyone had been hoping it would be warm, for Tony's sake.

It was like the weather was punishing Anthony for having such a good week, deciding to smack him with freezing wind and air that would leave his chest in pain.

But of course, he still had to go to school.

That was probably the first mistake he made. Going to school.

The day just went from bad to worse with each passing minute. Alice accidentally hit him with a pencil in art after twirling it around too much. He tripped over some kid's bag in history and almost hit his chin against another's desk if Jasper hadn't caught him.

The whole day, full of mistakes.

On his way to the medical building, Tony nearly slipped into a puddle but luckily, only his arm got wet. Then in the building Reyes gave him a stern talking about his pain medication and how it still hadn't gotten refilled. During lunch he got pudding on his sweater, the dark brown stain was screaming to be noticed against the white material.

Jasper ended up giving Tony his sweater, not worrying about his scars since he was also wearing a long sleeved shirt.

Then in Trig some kid nearly hit him in the eye with a pen after clicking it too much and it shooting out of his hand. 

Mistake, after mistake, after mistake.

It just wasn't a good day for Tony, and the last thing he needed was to be tried by some asshole. Yet- of course, what else should happen.

Finally at the end of the school day, ready to go home, Anthony still had to wait for Bella to finish up on some project of hers before they could get going.

Alice and Rosalie had stayed behind to keep him company, along with Reyes who had nothing better to do. They all sat in the bed of Bella's truck and talked, tossing a rock around.

It was like the day was finally starting to look up for Anthony.

"Hey, look who it is." A voice interrupted Rosalie's teasing of Jasper becoming soft.

The group turned to the voice, and paired it with a man who seemed either drunk or stupid. Maybe both.

Tony's eyes hardened and became cold as he looked at the man, not bothered when a bit of wind tousled his hair around so it obstructed his vision slightly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Anthony called out, slowly taking out his nasal prongs and wrapping the tubing around his oxygen tank, ignoring Reyes's warning glances.

"You know me, always hopping from place to place. But I saw you over here and just had to say hello, y'know? Like old friends, you and I." The man laughed.

Alice and Rosalie exchanged a nervous and confused look when Tony hopped down from the bed of the truck and got in the man's face.

"Old friends?" Tony laughed humourlessly. "No man, you're an old problem that I thought we'd gotten rid of." He stated, standing directly in front of him now, being able to see the blue of his eyes and smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Oh c'mon, Tony-"

"No- Isaac- you are literally the biggest waste of oxygen I have ever seen- you dumb fucking prick..,"

"I told you," Tony began again. "I told you that the next time I saw you, I'd kill you for what you did. Do you have a death wish? Is that what this is?" 

The man, Isaac as Tony had called him, seemed to dismiss the anger in the boy's tone and just laughed.

"Oh yeah, how is Liv by the way?"

It seemed like that was the last straw,

The final mistake of the day, was those words coming out of Isaac's mouth in a dismissive and class clown tone, with a dopey, shit-eating smile to match.

Because all it took was that sentence for Anthony's already bad day to become worse.

It made everyone fall silent, like the world was holding it's breath yet again but this time, in anticipation for what was about to come.

And the only sound that broke the void of quiet was a loud, echoey, satisfying crunch.


	35. THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. hospital room !

— ANTHONY SWAN GUESSED THAT BY NOW, he should be familiar with hospital sounds. The oxygen mask over his face causing his breath to sound hollow, the beeping heart rate monitor. He'd been stuck with them for at least four years of his life.

Yet when he woke up, this time felt different.

When he opened his eyes, all he saw was white. It blinded him for a moment, and he shut his eyes again before opening them and letting them refocus.

A standard hospital bed, with a window and some chairs. 

Reaching up to take off the mask, he caught the attention of Rosalie, who sat up and closed her magazine. Reyes was sat on the floor, surrounded by feathers, but he looked up as Rosalie leaned forward to take Tony's hand in hers.

"Did I kill the bastard?" Anthony's ragged voice asked.

"No, but you broke his nose damn good." Emmett's voice stated as he entered the room, carrying three pudding cups and a few plastic spoons.

Tony smiled slightly, before noticing a pain in his cheek. Reaching a hand up, he felt the rough bandage that clung to his skin there, and then another closer to his hairline.

"That little bitch went right for the face, didn't he?" 

Rosalie nodded with a tight smile.

"Alice and I had to pull you off each other, then you passed out." Rosalie stated.

Reyes spoke up from the floor with an annoyed tone, while Emmett stayed quiet and set the puddings on the table next to Anthony.

"I told you to keep your oxygen with you."

"It would have held me back."

"It would have saved you from passing out and waking up in a hospital." Reyes stressed. 

Tony rolled his eyes slightly. In the back of his mind, he heard the whisper 'it was worth it' but decided not to voice it aloud, knowing that arguing with Reyes was not something he wanted or needed.

"Where is he?" Anthony tried to sit up but groaned as a pain flared up in his chest and his breathing became involuntarily hollowed.

Reyes scrambled to stand up, the feathers moving with the force of his rush.

"Breathe as properly as you can." He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Build up of mucus can cause chest infections and that would not help you in the slightest."

Tony sighed and let Reyes push him back against his pillows.

"You've got a few bruised ribs. He may have been drunk, but he had one hell of a punch on him." Reyes pressed a hand gently to Anthony's side, right where the supposed the bruising was. 

The pressure caused Tony to hiss in pain, to which the school nurse retracted his hand faster than lightning.

"Where is he?" Anthony asked again with a sigh, trying not to move too much.

Reyes glanced up at Emmett, then looked to Rosalie.

"They arrested him for public indecency." Emmett stated slowly. "He was absolutely wrecked."

Anthony sighed again, knowing that meant Isaac had been way more drunk then they thought. It was probably a surprise that he was still talking, let alone strong enough to hit back against Tony's attack.

Tony hummed and closed his eyes for a second. Or maybe it was a minute. Perhaps it was longer than that.

He seemed to be in and out of it.

As always, his weakened body was tired after over working itself.

He was hardly made to run; hell, he was hardly made to walk, but getting in a fist fight? That was beyond him.

His body needed rest.

And seemingly, that's what it got. When he woke up again, only Reyes remained in the room, still sat on the floor but now moved to be closer to Tony's bed.

Anthony turned his head slightly to watch Reyes's fingers as they hovered above the floor where feathers were scattered everywhere. Bits of golden flecks and orange light pooled around him.

Tony watched the feathers slowly raise about seven inches off the ground and begin an odd dance that Reyes was desperately trying to choreograph on the spot.

A binder was open in front of the witch, turned to a page with runes and words written all over in messy ink, like he'd been scrawling them on the paper as quickly as possible.

It reminded Tony of when he took notes in class. The teachers always moved too fast and if you couldn't scribble down words that were even slightly readable, you were screwed.

Tony didn't want to talk and interrupt Reyes' concentration, but a cough came up through his mouth and he had to move his arm quickly to cover it.

The noise and movement startled Reyes, and the feathers fell to the ground as if magnetized to the floor.

"Sorry." Tony muttered.

Reyes shook his head, "S'alright." He said, though his tone was slightly disheartened.

"Where is everyone?"

"They left a little while ago, they have school and all that to worry about. Jasper has been wanting to come see you but Alice has been convincing him to stay home." The Brit informed, groaning slightly as he stood to sit on the chair.

"Good." Anthony nodded. "That's a risk he shouldn't take."

It was quiet between them for a moment before Tony spoke up again.

"Why are you still here?"

"Well I couldn't very well leave you alone, could I?"

Tony smiled ever so slightly at the man's kindness, and watched as Reyes grabbed one of the pudding cups brought in by Emmett.

He opened two of them and slid the wheel-able table closer to the both of them.

Tony chuckled as Reyes held out a little white plastic spoon for him to take, and sat up slightly against his pillows to grab it.

Clinking their spoons together, they dug into their puddings.

— STAYING IN THE HOSPITAL FOR SO LONG, Anthony found out that Reyes was great company to have.

The school nurse had taken the week off work to insure that Tony always had someone with him.

There were only a few moments when Reyes had gone home to get a change of clothes, some cookies for Tony or some board games; it never took long for him to return.

They'd been surviving purely on hospital food, and take out from the chip truck down the road.

The Cullens and Bella had been consistently busy going to school, but Bella always put aside time to visit Anthony and finish her homework.

Anthony didn't really mind being alone anymore, which is why he had no problem letting Reyes go and sign off on some things that would be arriving for his sister. Besides, Tony would likely be sleeping the whole time anyway.

Which is exactly what he tried to do, he left the oxygen mask on over his mouth and nose, and leaned back into his pillows.

Drifting between the moments of sleep and awake, he could hear a new voice from inside the room. One that he hadn't heard in a long time. Long for him, anyway.

"You're an idiot, Anthony Swan." The voice spoke, a sad tinge to the tone. "You're an idiot, and I love you so much."

He recognized the voice anywhere, and the idea of sleep became distant in his mind.

Reaching up to take off his mask, he smiled softly, his eyes still closed.

"You best have brought some Chinese food." He said.

The voice laughed and spoke again, "What do you take me for, a liar? You still owe me five bucks."

Finally, Tony opened his eyes.

"Hey nerd ass." He greeted.

"Hey geek ass." Liv Marigold grinned, moving from the doorway of his hospital room to place a bag of Chinese food on the table.

The sick looking woman sat next to him on his bed.

"You shouldn't have hit him." She said, running a hand through the boy's hair.

"He deserved it."

"I would have been fine. Nothing he says can hurt me." Liv smiled sadly.

Tony sighed, and grabbed her hand.

"Yes it does. It hurts you and when you're hurt it pisses me off. We both know I should have hit him after... y'know.."

Liv shook her head.

"It was my fault," Tony tried to speak up and protest her words but she kept talking. "I should have gotten better. I should have tried to get better for him."

Tony knew that Isaac wasn't the 'him' she was talking about, and couldn't help but glance down at Liv's stomach.

"You did your best. You shouldn't have to get better for someone else, it has to be your choice." Anthony assured.

Liv only shook her head more and allowed a tear or two to slide down her face.

"But my own- my own child?"

"Hey, it was a miracle he was able to get as far as he did. You know it was practically impossible for you to get pregnant."

"Yeah, and now it'll never happen again." Liv cried. "I was ready to be a mother, I was so ready."

"Liv, I know you were, but Isaac wasn't the person you wanted for that." Tony sat up more so he could hug Liv closer to his body.

It was so weird to see them, from an outside perspective, looking in on the room as Daniel Evans did, leaned up against the door frame.

They were both so sick, so weak, so tired.

They were so human.

— REYES GOT ALONG WELL WITH LIV AND DANIEL. The three of them were with Tony every single day, every moment that they could.

"Yeah that's really cute, you ass." Liv's rasping voice said mockingly.

"It's monopoly, Liv. Get over yourself." Tony laughed.

"'It's monopoly'." Liv mocked again in a childish tone. "Get fucked, all of you."

"Hey- mind your language, there's a child in the room." Danny stated as he rolled the die.

"Anthony can take it." Liv shook her head.

"That wasn't the child I was talking about." Danny said, sending a pointed look to Reyes who just groaned and muttered 'c'mon man' under his breath.

Anthony stifled a laugh behind his blanket, trying not to aggravate his ribs.

"That was really-..." Anthony wheezed slightly, "that was mean, guys."

"Point being?" Liv raised an eyebrow as she picked up the dice.

Tony just put his hands up in mock defence and Reyes chuckled.

After a few more minutes of fighting, laughing, mocking and Liv nearly driving a plastic fork into her own hand, the woman decided she needed a break, promptly getting her cigarettes out of her purse and leaving the room.

"Don't fuck with my properties!" She called behind her.

Reyes spoke out about it being around the right time for something to eat. Which, honestly, Anthony wouldn't mind, so Reyes went off to find something decent in the hospital cafeteria that wasn't pudding cups.

This left Tony and Daniel.

They hadn't gotten a lot of alone time. Since Liv and Danny had gotten there, they hadn't left Tony by himself. 

Danny had set up a bed on the floor in a corner of the room, Liv slept anywhere she could, whether it be on a chair, next to Tony, or using Danny as a pillow.

Anthony tried to insist they could find an inn or set up in his house, knowing Charlie wouldn't mind. They denied it constantly, claiming they came to see him and they would do so without hesitation.

"So," Danny started, leaning back in the chair he had occupied. "What's this boyfriend of yours doing today?" He asked.

Anthony's face felt warm as he thought about Jasper.

"Alice told me they were playing baseball." Tony shrugged, also leaning back into his bed.

"Isn't there a storm or something coming in?"

Anthony's eyes widened in surprise. He guessed the storm was part of the reason the Cullens could play baseball today, and he didn't have any other lined up excuses.

"Maybe?" He tried to cover. "They don't mind the rain."

Danny raised an eyebrow, but said nothing against it.

"How's dad?" Anthony changed the subject.

Daniel had taken Charlie a coffee and breakfast sandwich when he went to work without eating that morning. They talked for a while, about what, Tony wasn't sure, but he knew they got along well.

"He's fine, kid." Danny smiled gently. "He's just worried about you, is all."

Tony picked at some loose strings on his blanket and nodded.

It was silent again, and for the first time it was an awkward silence.

Tony couldn't remember a time Danny had ever felt awkward around him. He could tell the man had something on his mind.

"You should do it." Tony's breathless voice spoke up.

Danny looked at him in confusion, then understanding.

"I don't know Tony, I don't wanna leave you guys behind."

"We'll be okay." Tony assured. "There are other people that need you." He smiled. "You should go back, I'm sure that John whatever guy would love to see you."

Danny leaned further back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

"You're too observant for your own good." His words seemed somewhat harsh, but his tone had a sense of pride and a smile cracked out on his face.

"No," Anthony chuckled. "I just know you too much."


	36. THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. bad luck !

— IF THERE WAS EVER A CHANCE OF BAD LUCK IN THE WORLD, it all seemed to rain down on the Swans like some bullshit hurricane.

Anthony Swan guesses that was what it must be; bad luck or something.

All day after the monopoly fiasco (aka Liv flipping the table and everyone off), Tony had been preoccupying his time by texting his sister, who was keeping him informed on the Cullen's baseball game.

Tony had no idea how to play baseball, but he could assume they were having a fun time.

Bella  
Your boyfriend looks real hot btw

Tony  
Tell me more, tell me more

Bella  
Did you just ?? Grease ??

Tony  
Let's be real I wish I was as cool as Sandy was in the final scene

Bella  
That's true, but she was cool in the beginning too

Bella  
He's up to bat rn

Bella  
He's doing some fancy bat tricks

Tony  
Sounds hot lmao

Bella  
Mines hotter :)

Tony  
Dude shut up and watch the game, you have a job to do

Bella  
Yeah I called Rosalie on a false run and I'm almost certain that she growled at me

Tony  
Good kitty :)

Bella  
Tony... ??

Bella  
How do you even get away with that? I just showed her the text and she just smirked and growled again?

Tony  
Bcuz I'm better than you 

Bella  
Shut up, hang on

Really? No retort? No half assed comeback?

Tony  
Lol someone need straightening out orrr??

Bella  
Tony shut up for a minute or I'm blocking you

Tony sighed and set his phone down in his lap, taking a moment to rub at his tired eyes. 

Looking up, he took note of the crummy hospital room. 

Reyes was reading from his big binder, sitting in a chair with his sneaker clad feet propped up on Anthony's hospital bed. 

Liv was out for a smoke break so she could call her FBI friends, and help profile a murderer.

Daniel was just leaned back in his chair again, texting his war friend whom lived in England.

"How's John doing?" Anthony asked, sitting up a bit more and suppressing a groan as his muscles tightened around his ribs.

Danny looked up from his phone.

"He's doing okay, I suppose. He's just trying to find a place in London that doesn't charge much rent." He tucked his phone into his pocket just as it buzzed again, but he ignored it this time.

"Should be easier, with you around. You two can split the cost." Tony shrugged.

"That is the plan." Danny smiled. "John seems to be getting real antsy these days. He's not used to being home yet." He muttered, taking his phone back out for a split second to check the message.

It was quiet for a moment as he replied to his text. In that minute, Tony glanced back over at Reyes.

The binder that had been held up by the Brit's hands, was now fallen open against his chest and a few soft snores came out of his mouth while his head fell at an awkward angle to the side.

He looked uncomfortable and tired.

"I wish this man would just go home. I wish all of you would sleep elsewhere, I mean really, this has to be the most uncomfortable place to sleep." Anthony shook his head and picked at his blanket some more.

Daniel looked up at Reyes' situation and sighed, putting his phone in his pocket and standing up.

"We're fine, kid." He stated, grabbing a big blanket off the table behind him and putting it over his shoulder. "We'd rather be here with you than anywhere else." Danny then grabbed the binder off of Reyes and placed it where the blanket had been. Once he did that, the blanket was draped over Reyes and Danny resumed his spot in his chair.

Anthony, before, couldn't really understand why they had been so insistent on staying with him.

He knew better now. After the one time when he woke up, drowning in his own body because his lungs decided to short stop in the middle of the night. Story of his life, but he saw his friend's eyes, and the pure terror that made its home in their irises.

For Liv and Daniel, it was like they were back in their old hospital room- knowing that Anthony was terminal and this whole cancer thing would almost definitely be the death of him.

They were just scared they wouldn't be around, when that guaranteed ending would come.

And Anthony guessed it was the same with Reyes.

They were just scared.

He could tell his father was thankful for it too, them staying with him. Anthony knew that if they weren't here to keep an eye out for him, Charlie would be the one passed out in Reyes' chair.

Tony is pulled away from his thoughts as Danny stands up and puts a hand on the boy's arm.

"I'll be right back, kid. I just gotta call John and calm him down. He's freakin' our thinking he'll have to live with Harry." Daniel said. "I keep telling him, that's only worst case scenario, if anything, Eugene would probably offer him a place before Harry does." The man muttered as he left the room, running a hand through his hair.

It seemed like everyone was attached to their phones, rushing around trying to do their jobs, make plans, chat with friends. 

Anthony wouldn't consider himself attached to his phone, but he missed the Cullens too much. Especially with the fact that his own boyfriend couldn't visit him in the hospital.

He wasn't bitter, he was far from it. He liked Jasper, and respected his decisions and boundaries.

But it was really hard not to miss him.

Alice and Rosalie had visited for a few hours before they had to go to school one morning, and Alice promised to take good care of Tony's camera- and take pictures of everything that happened in his absence.

He couldn't appreciate his friends more. It wasn't that big of a deal, missing out on a few days, but Alice knew he'd rather be out with them than holed up in a cramped hospital room.

Anthony looked out the window in the corner across the room. just as a crack of lightening lit up the sky.

His phone rang out, so annoyingly loud yet it's tone wasn't enough to wake up the sleeping witch.

"Hello?" Tony answered, adjusting his pillow with one hand while his other held up his phone. He hadn't bothered to look at the caller ID.

"Hey darlin'." Jasper's smooth talking southern accent hit Anthony like a tidal wave. Though he couldn't quite pick up on the worry in the Hale's voice.

"Hey Texas." Anthony hummed. "Bella told me you were looking damn hot today." He flirted.

On the other end, Jasper's eyebrows arched in surprise that Tony was being so open and obvious with his feelings.

"Yeah, maybe you'll get a picture." Jasper chuckled, his voice dropping lower and deeper.

"I'd better." Tony laughed. "Danny and Liv just stepped out to take a call, Reyes is sleeping. It's probably one of the most boring lazy days of my life." He complained slightly, letting his head fall back into his pillows and his hair splay and hang awkwardly around his face.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Jasper muttered, back to his worried tone. "Tony.., it's Bella."

Anthony's heart stopped short, and he took a moment to gasp for a quick breath.

"What about Bella?" He asked.

"Well... we've known about a few nomads in the area, but we hadn't seen them until today..." Jasper trailed off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony leaned forward, the blanket shifting around him.

He wasn't too worried about waking Reyes. Currently, he was sleeping through a thunderstorm that was insanely loud.

"One of the nomads figured out she was human... Darlin', he's sick. He loves to chase his prey and he knows the Cullens will protect her. He likes challenges."

"So you're a saying that... Bella, my Bella, my sister Isabella Swan, is being hunted down by an actual human blood sucking vampire?" Tony asked, his voice on edge.

There was a long silence on the other line, as if Jasper didn't know what to say, or he was holding his breath waiting for the explosion of anger or fear.

But it was just nothing.

Then, it was Tony's voice appearing out of the void.

"Jasper? Is she gonna be okay?" The Swan asked.

Jasper was quiet for a second, only a second, but that was enough to let Anthony know that he wasn't sure if Bella would be okay.

"We'll try to keep her safe. She's with a family of vampires, how safe can she get?" Jasper tried to reassure. Even without this abilities (them not being able to reach Anthony through a phone) he was able to tell how anxious Tony had become.

Maybe it was his natural empath ability, the part of him that he had when he was still human.

Or maybe he just knew Anthony enough to know when he's hurting.

— JASPER HAD HUNG UP A FEW MINUTES INTO THE CONVERSATION, saying that they had to get Bella out of Forks as soon as they possibly could.

Tony wanted to help, but Alice had picked up the phone at that point and told him not to leave the hospital, since the nomad (who he now knew as 'James') didn't know he existed yet and they intended to keep it that way.

He was getting antsy, and he couldn't even tell Danny or Liv why he was like that.

Charlie called a few hours later, taking about how Bella decided to go home to Phoenix and him and Tony would be alone for a while.

He could tell that Charlie was trying to be strong, but Anthony could hear the cracks in his voice as he tried not to breakdown while on the phone with his son.

Maybe it wasn't ideal, and Anthony hated doing this to his father.

But Bella made the decision to leave with the Cullens, and despite Tony not liking the idea, he knew he could trust their new family.

For the first time in the whole week, Tony was left alone while his 'guardians' went to get some take out to avoid hospital food.

Anthony decided, against better judgement, to take a shower.

He knew he should have someone with him when he was planning to stand on a wet surface, but the hospital gave him an emergency button so he felt about as safe as he could at the moment.

Once he stepped in and took off his shirt, the mirror was a harsh reminder of his physical state.

A dark bruise ran along his rib cage, a purple blemish against his skin. There were matching circles under his eyes despite his constant rest.

The stitches on his forehead had yet to come out, and a bright white bandage held onto his face like a second skin.

Tony's took about an hour in the shower, as if trying to wash away all his sinking feelings and bad luck.

Reyes, Liv and Daniel got back about 20 minutes into his shower, but he still stayed under the warm water until it became cool again.

Maybe it was the warm water, and the feeling of safety that came with it, that made him want to stay in it for so long.

Then he stepped out, clothed in his grey sweatpants and white t shirt with a towel around his neck.

Then he sat down in his hospital bed, and Danny opened a box of take out for him. (Despite being fully capable, Daniel had even tried to feed him a few times).

It was quiet, comfortable. The door of the room was open so the bustle outside was constant, and the four just listened to the world.

It slowly became louder and louder outside, and Liv shared a confused glance with Danny, who got up and leaned his head around the corner.

And, just like bad luck, Danny's voice rang out in question.

"Bella?"


	37. THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. mother, mother !

— DANIEL EVANS HAD NEVER OFFICIALLY MET ISABELLA SWAN. He'd heard about her from Tony, and seen pictures of her, but they had never actually spoken.

But her strikingly pale face, and dark hair was oddly familiar to Danny. After living in a room with the girl's brother for so long, he could pick out all the similarities in Bella's face.

He wished he didn't say anything, as soon as he did.

"What about Bella?" Anthony had sat up on the bed, a rush in his tone and quick movements as he set his box of take out on the table and ripped off the towel that had hung loosely around his neck.

"Tony, be careful." Reyes warned with a mouthful of food.

Danny stepped back into the room and leaned against the wall, pulling out his phone and dialling a number at lightening speed.

"Bella?" Tony leaned forward and out into the hall, ignoring the pain in his chest and the fact that he hadn't been hooked up to an oxygen tank all day.

Anthony didn't get to see Bella, as she got taken into another room, but he saw Carlisle's head of blond hair and he knew that everything hadn't gone according to plan.

"Carlisle!" Anthony called, weaving between a few rushing nurses.

The Cullen seemed to look down in disappointment before turning to face Tony with a guilty expression.

He didn't want to talk with Anthony, and have to face the boy's distress and his own guilt at the idea that they couldn't protect Bella to the best of their abilities like they had promised.

But when Tony got closer, Carlisle was intensely surprised when the boy wrapped his arms around the vampire's waist in a tight hug.

"Is everyone okay?" Tony asked.

It took a moment for him to respond as Carlisle's own arms wound around the boy's shoulders.

"We will be." Carlisle smiled bittersweetly, laying his chin against the top of Anthony's head.

— BELLA SWAN'S INJURIES WERE LESS THAN WHAT ANTHONY HAD EXPECTED. Especially after he'd heard the whole story. 

How his sister survived getting thrown across a room.

How his sister survived a vicious attack. 

How his sister survived the bite.

He admired her for being able to handle all that with only a broken leg and a few cuts and bruises.

As expected, when Charlie called Renée to tell her that her daughter was in the hospital, the woman dropped everything and drove there.

A shining slap of reality for Tony.

How many times had Charlie called Renée about Tony being in the hospital?

How many times had she actually shown up to care?

It hurt, Tony would admit. It hurt that his own mother was just waiting for a phone call from the hospital to say 'hey you should start planning a funeral'.

It hurt that he'd been hurt so much that his mother was just expecting it now.

But, then again, Anthony knew the people that really mattered, would never leave his side.

Bella hadn't woken up yet, and Tony's brain was fuzzy from waiting.

He'd had to stay in his own room the whole time, to insure his own safety.

Charlie had started living in the hospital too, since most of the vampire attacks had stopped there wasn't a lot for him to be doing. He felt more responsible to be there for his kids, than out at the station anyway.

It was moments like these Tony could see the real unity in his friends. The people that cared most for him.

Danny would talk with Charlie, trying to reassure him. Liv would bring him coffees, just the way Charlie liked them. Reyes told Charlie that he would be there to look after his kids if they ever needed it. Their own personal nurse.

They were really trying to make it easier on everyone, and Tony could not have appreciated it more.

He still wasn't allowed to see Jasper, but the talked on the phone every couple hours and Alice had given him back the camera that she'd had.

Looking through it gave him something to do.

So one night, exhausted and drunk on boredom, he turned on the little device and clicked from picture to picture.

At the beginning, there were blurry photos of a little brunette girl, with tinier fingers over the lens. 

A real amateur shot.

Tony could practically remember the day he took it, despite it being so long ago.

"Bewa you have to sit still!"

"I am! I promise!"

He remembered when little Bella's name was apparently too difficult for his mouth to comprehend and he remembered the way she stood and stretched her short, chubby little arms over her head, then lost her balance and fell back on the pillows giggling.

"You're not sitting still!" His own giggles echoed around his mind as he clicked through more photos.

Slightly older now, a male and female brunette sat on a park bench in muddy clothes next to a short tan boy with an equally messy ensemble. They made faces and put up peace signs and-

"Ew you got mud on me!"

"Jake, you're covered in mud."

Another few in, there was a picture taken in the diner, with Tony sat on Charlie's lap and Bella munching on a chicken finger in the background.

"Thanks for taking the picture, Cora."

"No problem, Chief."

More photos in, it was a picture of Charlie's house.

"Kids, we're leaving, grab your things."

"But Mom, what about Dad?"

Later in the photos, there was a picture taken of a much older Tony, in his teen years. He was sat on the edge of a hospital bed, pale and sweating buckets but with a big smile for the person behind the camera. He looked like hell, with someone to protect.

"Bella look, they put a needle in my arm!"

"Ewwww, Tony!"

Then later, in his old hospital room, it was a picture of Liv Marigold, angrily yelling at the tv.

"No! Meredith, that's not how you call a code blue! God damn it, Grey!"

Then another of Daniel Evans, with an oxygen mask over his mouth and a thumbs up.

"You're gonna get through this, Danny. I promise."

Clicking through, there were more and more of Liv and Danny, a few of Tony thrown in, pictures of take out, board games, Eric the nurse scolding Liv for smoking.

Then he clicked to a picture of Alice, hiding her face behind some uno cards.

"You're trying to cheat!"

"I'm not cheating, I'm taking a picture!"

Click again, a picture of Anthony using the cards as a fan.

"How fancy."

"Now who's cheating!"

Then an uno card tower, mid fall.

"You touched it!"

"I didn't, I swear."

Click, click, click.

There were just more and more pictures, a bunch of plants from that one biology field trip.

Then one of Jasper and Tony, walking through an empty isle of flowers and green leaves, Tony had a tight grip on Jasper's arm with on hand and the other was wheeling his oxygen tank behind him. 

"Do you realize how comfortable you are?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

More and more pictures just bled into moments of Tony's life, joined by friends and family, items of importance. Minutes passed with each click, hours, days.

Pieces of a life Tony once believed wasn't worth the time. But each moment was hope, smiles, and childish innocence.

It warmed him, in a way. His chest still felt like it was on fire, as it normally did, but the fire was warm.

And he smiled.

Click click click, he watched as Emmett made faces at the camera. Click click click, he saw Charlie sipping coffee. Click click click, Alice's selfies with the Cullen's. Click click-

And he smiled even more.

They must not have noticed her at the time, but one picture was taken from Alice's perspective, standing just outside Jasper's room.

But the distance wasn't doing anything to mask the reason for the picture.

Sitting on the floor, Jasper had his arm covered in dark paint, blatantly noticeable against his pale skin. Anthony had a paintbrush in one hand, but he wasn't focused on the painting.

The two boys were kissing.

"Were you trying to kiss me?" Echoed around the room as Anthony examined the picture.

"Uh... Maybe?"

He couldn't believe Alice had actually captured that moment in particular. A first kiss.

"You two are cute." Anthony's head shot up at the voice. Danny.

"Yeah I guess we are." Tony smiled, looking back down at the picture as Daniel last down on the edge of his bed.

"You look happy with him." Danny pointed out, looking at the camera.

Tony nodded, "I am."

"And he treats you well?" 

"Like a prince, Dad." Tony said, not realizing quite what had come out of his mouth.

Danny's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Did you just call me Dad?"

"No."

"Yes you did, you called me Dad." Danny laughed.

"No, I called you Dan." The Swan boy tried to cover his face with his hands, letting the camera sit in his lap.

"Uh-huh, this just proves that it IS my Dan talk."

Anthony groaned and ran a hand through his hair with a small, amused smile.

"Yeah, okay." He agreed.

Another voice broke the tender moment.

"Bella! Oh my god, Bella!" Came from just outside the room.

Anthony groaned again.

"Crap... Mom's here." He sighed, setting his camera next to him and tossing his blankets away from his lower half as Danny stood up with a slight chuckle.

Tony hesitated actually following Danny's example and getting up.

Did he really want to see Renée? The woman who'd never really cared about anyone's feelings but hers?

Anthony looked down at the camera again, realizing that almost none of the pictures had Renée in them.

It was like his life was splayed out in photographs, but she wasn't a part of it. Like background noise to the chorus of a song.

Then he saw the machines sitting next to the bed, most of which he didn't know the names of.

Maybe, for a moment, Renée should be a part of this wonderful life... before it was gone.

Anthony was felt so warm in that second, like letting his mother in would be the right decision. Maybe they could change, while they still had the chance.

It was a fool proof plan, he knew, he needed a mother and the only real person he had right now was Renée.

"I'm gonna talk to her, I'll be right back." Anthony stated, getting up.

His brain had gone fuzzy and a small smile was on his face.

He was walking in a trance.

One step, two step. He could practically see his mother through the doorway of Bella's hospital room.

Esme, Alice and Emmett were sitting in some chairs just outside her room, one of the only places to sit unless they wanted to go to the cafeteria with everyone else.

Three step, four step. It just became a blur until he was at Bella's doorway.

"Hey, Mom." His voice flowed softly, calmly.

It was a moment. Another one of those moments in his life, that bled into all the others.

And he was really hoping it would be a good one. A great one. One that would warrant taking another picture.

But just like that bad luck,

"Anthony Swan, what the hell were you thinking!"

One step back.

"Mom- I-"

"How could you let her just leave like that?"

Two steps back. His mother was on a roll with no intent of stopping, a fire in her voice that somehow hurt more than the one in his chest.

It wasn't warm anymore, it was burning.

"How could you get into a fight with a drunk- what the hell is wrong with you!"

"I'm sorry-"

Three steps back.

"You're sorry? You're supposed to be looking out for her, not getting yourself killed! Now look what's happened!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Just- get out. I can't even look at you right now." Renée put a hand to her head and sighed.

Tony looked down at his sister, looking so small in such a big hospital bed. He hadn't seen it before, but god she was tiny.

"But Bella," He started.

"Get. Out."

And he did. He ran and ran into the first supply closet he could find and just tried to keep it together. He didn't realize he was followed.

"Tony, sweetheart?" A knock came on the door, despite it being unlocked.

"I'm fine, Esme." He his voice broke when he spoke through his sleeve as he wiped it over his dampened eyes.

"Oh, honey." The door opened and he was wrapped in a hug.

He was right. He did need a mother.

But that mother wasn't Renée.


	38. THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. family is made, not born !

— INITIALLY ANTHONY SWAN WAS UPSET, distraught even, at the idea that his own mother cared less about him than she did his sister.

At first it hurt, and then hurt some more. The feeling of betrayal gripped on his heart, clutching and ripping ruthlessly like icy claws, desperately trying to latch onto him and make its home there.

But then there was Esme. The good kind of fire. She hugged him close and let him cry. Despite being on the frozen side of temperatures, she had a warmth that washed over him and melted the sad feelings away.

"I'm sorry," he'd sobbed into her shoulder, listening as that mocking child's laughter echoed around his brain, trying to tell him that boys shouldn't cry. Just as it always had. "I'm sorry."

"Honey, don't be sorry." Esme held him closer, ignoring the fact that she could hear Emmett down the hall, tearing Renée a new one.

Anthony could hear it too, and it drowned out his own thoughts, leaving his brain numb on sadness and paralyzed in the moment.

"You absolute fucking bitch!" Emmett yelled angrily. "You're the one person he came to in this moment and you decide to push him away? What the hell kind of parent are you?" There was a silence for a moment, Tony sniffed but didn't move away from Esme.

"You can't be fucking serious? Tell me you're kidding?" Another short silence. "Well if he's dying, you should be there for him!"

"I can believe you'd say that, I swear to hell I'd fight you right now if I didn't want PETA on my ass!-" "Emmett!" "-Oh please, Rose like you wouldn't do the same."

Esme looked down at Tony, and nudged him up a little bit so she could see his face.

"You're alright." She smiled sadly, wiping the tear stains on Anthony's face and trying to ignore the puffy redness around his eyes and snotty nose.

Tony shook his head, another sob wracking painfully through his body.

"No I'm- not."

Esme moves his hair away from his forehead gently.

"No, but you will be. One day. I promise." She said softly.

Anthony knew that was an empty statement. He probably wouldn't live long enough for 'okay'. Sure he could love the Cullens, and his father, and Bella and Liv and Danny and Reyes and that would be nice. 

But in the back of his mind, his illness is still there, ever present and threatening to shut down his everything at any moment.

He was constantly at odds of wanting to live so badly, but not wanting to impact his loved ones lives too much for them to miss him so intensely.

"C'mon, let's get some air." Esme wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and only left him for a second to grab him a blanket before she was back at his side and leading him outdoors.

Outside the hospital wasn't that exciting. There was the parking lot, a few trees and a couple smoking areas and park benches.

It was still cold, and Tony had to wrap tightly under his blanket to fight the chills off.

He kept his head down, but felt the wind as it cooled his face and his eyes burned from the crying.

Esme lead him over to a park bench, sitting him down and hugging him close as they looked out on the dismal world, and boring cars.

"I think our lives would be a lot more dull if you weren't in them." Esme stated as a passing thought. "We're better for knowing you... Remember that."

They stayed there, in a comfortable silence until Tony had stopped the waterworks and the tips of his fingers froze from exposure as he held the edges of his blanket. He would gladly freeze if it meant he could sit in this sliver of false reality for just a few moments more. Where they were calm, and untouched by grief. 

Where he didn't have to lug around an annoyingly heavy and humming oxygen tank.

Of course, that was the first thing Reyes noticed when he pulled up in the parking lot, slamming the door as he got out of the car.

"Anthony Swan, where is your oxygen tank?" The man rushed, stumbling and trying not to trip over his untied shoelaces.

Typical, that Reyes would forget to tie his own shoelaces, but cared more about Tony's safety than his own.

"I left it in my room." Tony's voice was a bit croaky as he defended himself.

Reyes sighed, giving them a half hearted shrug as he sat on the bench next to the Swan, so Tony was sandwiched in by him and Esme.

Another voice joined them as they all calmed down, breathing in the cold air.

"Well, you didn't have to leave me." A woman spoke, as she approached from the parking lot.

"You can get out of the car your bloody self!" Reyes pointed, waving a hand towards the car for emphasis.

"Yeah, I can! But I moved here to spend time with my rat moustached brother!" The woman stated, adjusting her grey jacket.

"Oh, don't you dare make fun of my moustache!"

"Really? Because honestly if just looks like a caterpillar stuck to your face." She laughed.

"You're just jealous, this thing is glorious, right guys?" Reyes turned to him and Esme with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Oh- yeah." Anthony agreed. "A damn masterpiece." It was slightly sarcastic, but good enough for Reyes.

Reyes just turned to his sister with a glare, as if to say 'see?'.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and stepped closer to hold out a hand for Tony, the other hand holding a coffee cup, which Tony just noticed. "I'm Delphine." 

Anthony took it, noticing the soft coolness of her hand, and shook it.

"Anthony, but you can call me Tony."

— THEY SAT OUTSIDE FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, until they figured Emmett was done yelling at Renée and everyone had calmed down.

When they got inside, Delphine had gone to get a coffee refill but they brought Anthony to his room where the rest of the Cullens were (minus Jasper and Edward) along with Danny and Liv.

It was quite the crowd, but Tony wouldn't have it any other way.

"Your dad's down in the cafeteria still." Emmett spoke up from the floor, where he was sitting cross legged and playing a game of 'Sorry!' with Rosalie, Liv and Carlisle.

"Yeah, he hates hospitals." Tony nodded. "I'm impressed that he's even here still."

"He wouldn't miss this, kid." Danny smiled, sitting forward in his chair and checking his phone as it buzzed.

Anthony shuffled across the floor and sat down on his bed, still warm under the blanket that Esme had given him. Alice had decidedly got up from her spot on the floor and sat next to him, offering her support after what Renée had said.

They group talked and got comfortable, just soaking in each other's company, enjoying the moment.

Delphine came back and invited herself into the room, kicking back in a chair, in an awkward sitting position where one leg was tucked under her and the other swung loose.

"Yeah, guys, this is my younger blister- Delphine." Reyes rolled his eyes, waving his hand at her in a mocking fashion.

Delphine smirked slightly, "Why thank you big bother."

"Bother?" Reyes repeated in a whisper. "Mine was so much better than bother."

"Anyway..." Liv changed the subject by turning to Danny. "What time are you leaving?"

No one had said anything about Danny leaving, but Anthony knew instantly what Liv was talking about.

Danny squinted slightly, "How did you know?"

Liv was about to open her mouth with a reply, when Tony spoke up.

"Dan, you have an airline ticket in your back pocket." He pointed out.

Liv raised her eyebrows.

"I've taught you well." She grinned before turning back to Daniel in expectance.

He sighed, "I don't want to just leave you two... I told Eugene I should stay for a while longer but he wouldn't have it. Said something about how John is driving him mental, going on about not having a place to stay-" 

"Hey man, slow down." Liv stepped in. "It was a simple question." She laughed.

"The flight leaves around nine. I'll have to leave in a few hours." Daniel sighed, disheartened at the idea. "I have a few things at the Swan residence that I'll have to pick up before I go."

"We'll miss you, man." Emmett nodded from the floor, looking up momentarily from their board game.

"Yeah, have fun in England." Reyes agreed.

Delphine leaned forward, "I've got no clue who you are but enjoy your trip." She smiled.

"Actually," Danny checked the clock that hung on one of the walls. "Maybe I should head out and get my stuff now." He looked guilty, like he didn't want to leave but also didn't want to be late for his flight.

"I'll join you." Liv stood up and joined his side. "I need a cigarette anyway, plus I just beat those losers." She joked.

"You're not allowed to play games with us anymore." Emmett sulked, re setting the board.

Tony allowed a small smile to grace his face, knowing that Liv just didn't want to leave Danny alone. She wanted to spend time with him before he left.

"Alright, I'll see you later, kid." Danny muttered, nodding to Tony and putting a hand on Liv's shoulder as they stepped out the door.

"Keep up, old man." Liv's voice carried through the halls.

"Ten years, Liv. I'm only thirty-four." Danny laughed.

"And I'm twenty-four, you're still an old man..-" Their voices carried off as they left the building.

"Now that they've gone," Alice hopped up and Tony felt the bed shift next to him as she moved. "I have a few questions for Delphine."

"Oh?" The witch raised her eyebrows. "Do you now?"

Alice smiled shyly, a slight dance in her step as she stood at the door way.

"Care to take a walk?" She asked.

Delphine smiled, "I'd love to." She states as she stood and joined the vampire.

Once they left, Reyes groaned.

"Of course, love the water manipulator, ask her all the questions, it's not like I'm busting my ass and actually learning how to do shit rather than just naturally knowing how to work my powers..." Reyes whispered under his breath, upset that he always lived in the shadow of his younger sister.

Tony leaned over and put a hand on the witch's shoulder. But Reyes only sighed and stood, muttering some excuse about grabbing food from the cafeteria before also leaving the room.

Esme smiled gently at Tony before joining Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle for another game of Sorry.

Tony just sat back and watched them play, joining in every so often to the conversation.

It was a moment like this that he wished they were all normal people.

Where Anthony didn't have to worry about hospitals and breathing, and the Cullens would not have to worry about bloodlust.

Because it was a moment such as this that he wished Jasper was there. He wished the blond vampire would lay next to him and just observe the world the way Tony did.

Sure, he didn't mind doing it himself, but he'd found that everything was so much better with Jasper around.

And sitting back against his pillows, he took a moment to wonder if Bella had woken up yet. Was Renée telling her what happened? Was Bella asking where he was? Where the Cullens were? Where their father was?

Did Renée even care? Or would she just dismiss all these thoughts and questions and instead swaddle Bella in that same soft blanket cocoon of blissful stupidity.

It's what she always did.

Deny claims, lay the blame on another and try to ignore the poor feelings that wrapped around her mind. Blissful stupidity.


	39. THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. let's dance !

— WITH BELLA FINALLY WAKING, the Cullens and Swans were free to go home. Anthony got in the clear, with a warning not to expel his energy too much again.

Bella got a cast around her broken leg. It was dark and clunky, and made hollow noises as it stepped against the ground or wooden boards in their house.

Danny had left Forks with teary goodbyes- heading for London, England. Liv went back home, with the promise that she would try to get better. For herself, this time.

Everything was okay. If only for a second.

"It looks stupid." Bella groaned.

"Okay- Bella? Honey? That's kind of an asshole thing to say to the brother that just did your hair and makeup- it looks fuckin' awesome for someone with no experience whatsoever."

"No- I mean..." She paused, looking down past her dark blue dress at her foot cast. "It's so- big."

Anthony snorted slightly, "That's what he said."

"Oh my god, Anthony." Bella groaned.

"That's what he said too." He laughed, pinning back a piece of Bella's hair.

"When was the last time you even saw your boyfriend?" She asked.

"Hey! We're seeing each other tonight after prom! I'm staying over at the Cullens so we can have some time together." Tony defended, picking up the curling iron again, trying to make it look perfect. "Now shut up or I'll burn you." He smiled sweetly into the mirror for Bella to see.

"Oh, har har." Bella mockingly laughed before going quiet and just watching Anthony work away at her hair.

"Are you ever gonna tell me what happened at the hospital with Mom?" The woman asked quietly, trying not to move around too much.

By the look on her brother's face, she knew she shouldn't push it.

"I'll tell you when you're older." He smiled, kindly and real, into the mirror.

It wasn't really the thing she wanted to hear, this Anthony knew, but he also knew that in Bella's eyes their mother was the best thing to ever happen to her. He didn't want to ruin that picture by just slathering a big ball of 'bitch' on it.

"Okay, I think that's about as good as you're gonna get." He unplugged the iron and set it off to the side, picking up a bottle of hairspray and dousing his sister's hair so much that it would probably catch fire should any heat come into contact with it.

"Thank you." Bella stared at her brother through the mirror as he played with a few pieces of her hair, trying to make it look as nice as possible.

Anthony paused as he was reaching for one of the makeup brushes, going to put it away. 

"No problem, Sunshine." He stated before returning to his clean up, snapping shut the eyeshadow and putting the mascara back together.

He had made a mess of Bella's desk, but at least the final product was pretty good.

"Y'know, it's a lot like painting." He laughed. "But I get to use limited, powdery products. It's like mixed media on your face."

She smiled up at him, just admiring him in the moment as he ran a comb through his own hair and straightened out his white button up in the standing mirror.

She missed the days they didn't have to worry, when they rocked out to Queen and traded Monopoly money. When they sang along to every song and finger painted with abstract colours and shapes, the moments that they laughed when one of them fell over or got dirt all over their faces.

It was so different now. 

She just wished it wasn't.

She knew nothing would change his stance on becoming a vampire. She knew that she would probably lose him by the end of the year.

She knew that she had to appreciate him while he was here, because that time might be limited to a month. A day. An hour.

But even one minute with him was better than one alone. His demeanour was welcoming and inappropriate at times but he always knew how to have a good laugh, even if it was one following a dick joke.

"Tony?" Isabella spoke out, still content in just sitting and watching him fuss about his hair.

He hummed, still looking in the mirror.

"I love you." She whispered softly.

Anthony stopped and smiling, he turned to look at her, his eyes landing on the face of his baby sister. She seemed so young despite the makeup and hair she was sporting. So young.

He wished for things to be normal. Or at least normal-ish.

He didn't want to scare Bella with his sickness, or make her withdraw from him. But, he supposed, that was how it was meant to be.

With this in his mind, Anthony leaned forward to carefully press his lips to Bella's forehead.

"I love you too." It was sweet and quiet, as he moved back to the mirror with a warm glimmer in his eyes.

Moments of silence didn't last long, and when Anthony looked at the time he nearly had a heart attack.

"Damn- Alice'll be here soon and I don't even have my tie on." He whined, messing with his hair some more in the mirror.

Just as he said that, the door to Bella's room opened to reveal Alice herself.

Alice gasped, "Tony! Where's your tie?"

Anthony dropped his head as he rushed passed her into his own room.

"Yes, I know! I'm working on it!" He replied, leaving the door open for Alice to follow him in. "Bella, put on your dress!"

From Bella's room they heard a clunk, clunk, whack, and following was Bella's 'ow'.

Anthony sighed, grabbing his straight black tie off his bed.

"Can you help her?" He asked kindly, watching Alice nod and skip back into Bella's room.

He managed to tie it himself, and slipped his jacket on. Catching a glance of himself in his own mirror, he didn't look that bad.

Then his eye caught the oxygen tank in the corner next to his desk.

It mocked him in a way, as if it knew he wasn't taking it with him.

Alice stepped back into the room and giggled slightly at Anthony's tie, crooked and wonky, and stepped forward to fix it.

This was the moment that Tony finally noticed how absolutely radiant the small woman was. Her dress was a beautiful shade of purple, and it contrasted perfectly against her pale skin. 

"You look stunning." Anthony smiled, still leaned over slightly so Alice could fix his tie.

She giggled again, thanking him with a shake of her head.

She finished, the tie straightened out and looking crisp against Anthony's chest.

"You look rather handsome yourself." She winked, grabbing his hand to lead him into the hallway.

"Is... is Edward already here?" Bella asked, peeking out of her doorway.

"Yeah," Alice replied. "He's downstairs with Charlie."

"Shit." Bella cursed while Tony tried to keep himself from snorting a laugh. "Thanks again for the dress, Alice." She ignored Anthony, snickering away at the idea that Edward was alone with their trigger happy father.

"Any time." Alice smiled, linking with the arm that Anthony had offered out to her as they glided their way down the stairs. For once in his life, Tony thought he looked worthy of standing next to Alice. He looked, ironically, just as alive as she did. He was smiling, his face hurt from the constant grin.

It was nice. Hurting for a good reason.

Bella followed after them, a wonderfully awkward reveal.

Edward was weird, Charlie was protective, Alice was giggly as Anthony tried to keep her from overflowing with laughter and Bella was just... Bella.

Once they were finally able to leave, Alice and Anthony found themselves at the dance faster than they anticipated. Alice had borrowed Emmett's Jeep, considering he was riding with Rosalie in her convertible.

Anthony, being dramatically well mannered, got out of the car and opened Alice's door to let her out. 

She also brought a wide scarf to wrap around her shoulders, which is what she did as soon as they arrived. It was much too cold in Forks to go without something.

The music was loud, the teens were tipsy and the night was young yet.

And Anthony had promised a few dances, so that's what they did. They danced and laughed at each other's bizarre moves, almost falling over when the upbeat songs were forcing them to move like fish out of water.

They didn't have to be perfect. They just had to have fun. That, to them, was perfect.

And if perfect meant Alice rocking an elevator down move, then so be it.

"Hey, you guys are lookin' pretty good." A voice yelled over the music, just as Anthony had spun Alice around, laughing and giggling as they had fun.

The two turned to see Emmett's bright, smiling face.

Anthony greeted him with a laugh, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, we try our best." His voice was equally loud.

Alice mock curtsied with a short giggle, then she spotted Delphine reluctantly standing closer to the edges and all laughter cut off in seconds.

Rosalie had appeared next to Emmett, clad in a beautiful one shoulder, floor length dress, coloured in dark red to match her painted lips with her hair in an elegant half up look. 

Anthony was about to comment on the dress when she was quickly dragged off as Alice grabbed her arm and pulled her in Delphine's direction.

"We'll be back in a few songs!" She yelled out. "I just wanna know why Dell is here!"

Anthony chuckled, putting a thumbs up to the girls before turning back to Emmett.

"So..." Emmett trailed off, laughing.

As if predicting the situation, the music became slow and light, calming down significantly.

The boys both laughed before Emmett offered his hand, Tony taking it and letting the vampire lead him in dance.

They didn't worry about how close they were. They didn't worry about the fact that they were two guys in the centre of the student population. They barely even cared that Anthony's temple was leaned against Emmett's shoulder, looking out on the rest of the room.

"I never did thank you." Tony muttered, loud enough for Emmett to hear. "Standing up for me, to Renée. I really appreciate it."

Emmett smiled, closing his fist against Tony's back.

"No need to thank me, little brother." He chuckled.

Anthony smiled against the boy's shoulder, happy that he was lucky enough, in some way or form, to have met the Cullens.

— ALICE WAS HYPER FOR THE WHOLE NIGHT. She was on a high just from going to the dance, not able to stop thanking Anthony for asking her. The music was fantastic in her opinion, the decor was beautiful, everyone was so put together and looked wonderful.

At least, this is how she ranted on the way to the Cullen house.

But Anthony was almost ninety- nine percent certain that her excitement was heavily influenced by her one slow dance with Delphine.

Him and Emmett had taken bets on the two woman. How they were definitely mates, how long it'd take for them to notice, how long for them to get together. Stuff like that.

If things went well, Emmett could owe about fifteen dollars.

Then again, if they went poorly he could also be fifteen dollars out of pocket.

Him and Alice slow danced to a few songs. Then they couple switched with Emmett and Rosalie for another one. 

The night had gone well, all things considered.

And that was all he could have asked for. One perfect night when he knew the night was showing him quiet mercy, and it could only get better from there.


	40. THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. perfect and messy !

— IT WAS COLD AND QUIET WHEN THEY PULLED UP TO THE HOUSE. Looking out on the forest, the Cullen's beautiful building acted like a beacon, as all the lights shone through the windows and lit up Anthony's face as he stepped out of the car.

Only the wind made a sound, whistling as it went, and the very distant howl of a wolf broke the night.

Tony was floating. He felt so wonderful. Like all his life might somehow have been worth it, if it got him where he was.

Then he grabbed Alice's hand and led her inside, kicking his shoes off at the door and loosening his tie a bit while she danced further into the living area, giggling as she went.

"That was fun." Her mouth broke into a wide, untamed grin.

Tony's eyes gleamed as he nodded in acquiescence, joining her as she stood next to the couch, grabbing her hand again and twirling the small woman to the music only they could hear.

Then Alice pulled him into a hug, rocking back and forth and laughing quietly.

"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you so much, Tony." Her eyes squeezed shut as she hugged the boy tighter, carful not to hurt him.

He chuckled and pulled back a bit to gently kiss her forehead, the way he did with Bella.

"No need to thank me." He stated. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Alice giggled, looking up behind him at the stairs.

"I'm sure there's one other person I can think of that you wouldn't have minded taking." She winked, pulling away and laying a hand on Anthony's upper arm. "I'll see if I can convince Esme to go hunting with me, leave the house to you crazy kids." She laughed.

Tony didn't have to look behind him to know that Jasper was at the top of the steps, observing his two favourite people with the utmost admiration for both of them.

"Where's Carlisle?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"Overnight shift at the hospital. Unavoidable. Apparently Hal cut his hand with a power saw again." She shrugged.

"Honestly, someone needs to tell that guy that pumpkin carving is a yearly thing." Tony shook his head.

"Right? And who uses a power saw to carve pumpkins?" Alice giggled.

"Hal, apparently." Anthony laughed. "Though, that one of the stay puft guy from ghostbusters was pretty cool."

"Wasn't that last weeks pumpkin?"

"Nah, last week was his cat- it was sitting in the window of the hardware store. Danny took a picture of it for me because he was mildly confused as to why there was a pumpkin out when it's March."

"Fair enough." She laughed, glancing back up at Jasper. "Right. Well... I'm gonna find Esme. Thanks again, Tony."

Anthony didn't have the time to disregard her thanks, when she had already sped away leaving a gust of wind in her wake.

For a second, he smiled, then he turned and looked up at his beloved boyfriend, who leaned against the stairs railing delicately.

"Hey Texas."

— IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK TONY HOW THEY GOT TO JASPER'S ROOM, he honestly wouldn't have an answer. It was like a blur, and he couldn't pay attention to one part of the whole situation. Maybe it was a legitimate blur, considering the circumstances. Maybe Jasper just whisked him away with his vampire-ish-ness.

Either way, Anthony wasn't necessarily complaining. Especially when he can feel the wooden door against his back and Jasper carefully tugging at his already loosened tie. Not to mention the lips on his, begging for more.

It was like Jasper was a man struggling to breathe, and Tony was his only source of oxygen.

Poetic, when it all comes down to it. And funny enough to make Anthony pause for short bursts of giggles between their soft kisses.

Jasper hummed in amusement and pulled away, "What's so funny?"

Anthony chuckles and pushes Jasper forward slightly, only to switch places and press him against the door, hearing it creak ever so slightly with the force.

"Just... breathing." They were so close, their foreheads pressed so tightly together that Tony was practically murmuring against Jasper's lips. "It's funny, isn't it."

Jasper smiled sweetly, only half understanding what Tony meant. "I suppose."

There was another solid second of silence, both just soaking up each other's most welcome presence.

Tony wrapped his arms around Jasper's neck, bringing them chest to chest, "Okay, I'm done laughing, kiss me again."

Jasper was about to laugh, but swallowed it down and settled for a teasing smile.

"My, my, you're-"

"Don't start." Anthony smiled.

"Or what?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Or I'll kiss you, idiot."

Jasper shrugged, "I could live with that consequence."

Anthony leaned in again, and couldn't get enough of it. Whenever they kissed it felt like he was falling and floating at the same time, all while staying perfectly grounded, being reeled back in by Jasper's arms around his waist.

"Hey," Anthony spoke between kisses. "You're strong right?"

Jasper did the same, "With the vampire thing it's kind of unavoidable."

"Okay, catch me then." Anthony managed to hop up into Jasper's hold, complete trust between them, legs wrapped around his waist.

They both laughed, Anthony's got one hand against his boyfriend's cheek and one in his hair. It was perfect and messy and beautiful, to them it was, anyway.

Jasper carried him over to a bed against the wall, which bizarrely, Anthony had never noticed before. It was the same shade as his walls, and almost blended in.

When Jasper went to drop Tony onto the bed, but Tony clung tighter, laughing.

"I thought you were done laughing?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow again.

"Yeah, but that was before."

"You are.., an absolute child." Jasper chuckled, his southern accent had become heavier for one reason or another.

Tony stuck out his tongue. "And you're an old man, but you don't see me complaining." Then he paused. "Wait woah, that is so weird." He laughed, tightening his grip even more.

"Can we just go back to what we were doing? Without distractions?" Jasper laughed.

Tony managed to lean back and fall onto Jasper's mattress, pulling the vampire with him.

"As much as I would love that because as we all know, teenagers are in a constant state of lust," He mimicked a nasally posh voice before returning to normal, "I do not wanna be a stereotypical teen that has sex after prom."

"I wasn't even at the prom." Jasper pointed out, rolling over so Anthony was above him, tucking his forehead into the Hale's neck. Cozy and cuddly as Jasper pulled a throw blanket over them.

"That's worse." Tony snorted.

It was quiet for a few moments before Tony shifted and lay next to the blond, his head still pressed into his shoulder and a hand laying on the boy's chest.

They just stared into nothing, listening to the world.

Tony listened to every creak the house made, or the sound of crickets and wolves from the open window, it was a nice ambiance.

Jasper, specifically, listened to his mate's heartbeat. His breathing. He watched the way his chest rose and fell with each breath. The way his eyelashes brushed his cheeks as his eyes scanned the ceiling.

"I should change." Tony muttered, looking down at his tie and jacket.

He felt the bed shift as Jasper climbed over him to get to the floor and ultimately his own closet.

Anthony watched as he pulled a sweater out from his closet and some sweatpants, tossing them over to Tony who caught them and stood up, heading for the washroom where he changed, ran a dampened cloth over his face and messed up his hair again.

He didn't mean to mess up his hair but it seemed like the dark strands were done being nice for the night.

Entering Jasper's room again, he could hear some soft music coming from the radio, and smiled slightly as he walked over and piled his clothes on the grey love seat.

"This is a nice song." Tony commented, glancing at Jasper who was looking through more of his CDs.

The blond hummed with a small quirk of his lip.

Anthony didn't know the song. He didn't know who it was by or what album it may belong to, but it was quietly beautiful.

Tony began to sway to the music, turning to properly fold his clothes while he had a minute of free time.

Then Jasper appeared behind him, loosely wrapping his arms around Tony's waist.

He waited for Tony to finish folding and once he did, Jasper pulled away and turned him around just as a new song came on, just as nice as the last.

"May I have this dance?" Jasper smiled, offering out a hand for him to take, which he did.

Though he still whined slightly, "Texas, you should have asked me when I was still pretty." He laughed, swaying to the music. "Now I'm oversized clothes and my hair won't tame itself because it's an asshole."

Jasper chuckled, pulling closer.

"Don't worry about it, Prince Charming, you're always pretty to me." He tightened his hold.

"That has to be a lie." Tony laughed. "You've seen me at some of my worst, when I was sick in bed and tired as all hell and I probably had dark circles and pale skin and that's just not a good combo."

Jasper put their foreheads together, "In any case," He began. "Even when you don't think you look pretty you're still very pretty, I can assure you that."

Tony blushed lightly, but the lighting in the room made it into more of a gold colour.

He tucked his head into Jasper's neck again, muttering something as he went.

It was so quiet that Jasper, should he have been normal, wouldn't have been able to hear it.

But he wasn't normal, and his enhanced hearing caught a sentence he was familiar with.

"I like your face."

Jasper smiled, a calm and sweet little grin.

"I like your face too."

And that was that, two boys, unafraid of the world, hugging each other as tightly and closely as one could get, swaying to music that was no longer playing and wondering, wishing, if they could only stay like this forever, they would be infinitely happy.

But they would have to settle for now, and only now.

Maybe that was good, living for the day, and each and every day that follows. Maybe they could be happy until they weren't, and that was enough for them.

Dancing around Jasper Hale's bedroom, laughing and stumbling and pressing gentle kisses to jaws, hugging tightly and never letting go.

It was perfect and messy, and good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end of wdwg, for now- there is a Christmas special and a bit of info about Danny and liv’s spinoff stories in the next couple chapters— and I do intend to write a sequel !!
> 
> hope you enjoyed (:


	41. CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL  
(bonus chapter)  
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼

i. christmas with the cullens !

— CHRISTMAS HAPPENED TO BE ANTHONY SWAN'S FAVOURITE HOLIDAY. Adoring the colder weathers, he loved when it snowed and stuck to the ground so he could walk through the traditionally wintery substance. It sparkled in response to the sun with a warm, almost unbearably bright light.

Then the holiday itself, getting together for one perfect day, the Swan family would laugh and eat a wonderful meal and open gifts with no cares in the world.

Tony missed it. He missed when Renée and Charlie still made that effort to give their kids a perfect Christmas. It was never the same with their stepdad.

One year- Phil had gotten Tony a football. Anyone that knew Tony knew that he didn't- couldn't- do team sports.

It could never hold a candle to the 'create your own' comic books he'd gotten from Charlie when he was twelve.

But this year was different. Now, Tony had someone else to spend the holiday with.

The Cullens has been nothing but welcoming to the Swans, and Christmas with them had, so far, been a blast.

"Hey Emmett! You're tall right?" Tony asked, sporting an ugly looking Christmas sweater and elf hat. Emmett, wearing almost identical attire, looked up from the lights he'd been untangling.

"Yeah?"

"Gimme a hand." He huffed, trying to reach the top of a bookshelf to hang a string of garland.

Emmett chuckled and hopped up only to lean down in front of the boy.

"For real?" Tony deadpanned.

"Go on, Tony." Alice giggled from the staircase, hanging garland along the railing, the bells on her elf hat jingling.

The boy sighed, putting the string of garland partly around his neck and then jumping up on Emmett's back.

"Nah man, go all the way." Emmett laughed. "I've got the strength, don't worry about it."

"Your confidence is a nightmare." Tony wheezed a laugh, but still shuffling further so when Emmett finally stood, he was ON Emmett's shoulders.

Safe to say, he could reach the top of the bookshelf.

"When are they supposed to be coming back from that hunt?" Tony asked, sticking out his tongue trying to get the decor to sit perfectly.

Jasper, Rosalie and Carlisle had gone out to hunt for a few hours, roaming the woods that surrounded them. Their eyes had been dark with hunger for a few days and they couldn't stand it much longer with Bella always around.

"They'll be back soon." Emmett hummed in amusement, as if he knew something that Anthony didn't.

Tony ignored it, fluffing up pieces of the garland before nodding to himself.

"All good, Chief!" Tony called out playfully, taking off Emmett's elf hat and ruffling his short hair.

Emmett leaned back threateningly, and let go of Tony's legs, the one thing keeping him steady.

Tony let out a sharp yelp as he fell backwards, bracing for the impact of his body hitting the floor.

It didn't come. Instead, the sweet smell of vanilla and apple invaded his senses and a chuckle could be felt rumbling against him.

A picture perfect cliche, his wonderful boyfriend having caught him partly bridal style.

"Hey Texas." Anthony greeted casually, trying to catch his breath.

Jasper looked down at him in both amusement and adoration, "Hello." He laughed.

Emmett was almost hacking up an organ he'd laughed so hard, "You should've heard the sound you made, it was priceless!" 

"Go to hell." Tony smiled, throwing the elf hat he had taken from Emmett, hitting the vampire square in the chest.

Rosalie snuck up behind them, her heels barely making a sound against the hardwood as she held a bright green plant above Jasper and Tony's head.

"Mistletoe." She informed. "It is tradition." 

The two smiled at the blonde woman, who smiled back in response.

Anthony leaned up, running a hand up Jasper's chest to his cheek, and pressed their lips together for a few short moments, Jasper only reciprocating the action, smiling into it as he did.

Rosalie had walked away, getting Emmett to give her a small kiss as well.

"You can let me down now." Tony laughed against Jasper's lips.

Jasper grinned and as he set Anthony down, an elf hat similar to Tony's was placed on his blond hair.

Carlisle stepped out from behind him, tossing another elf hat to Rosalie who grimaced at it, but Tony could see a hint of a smile as Emmett took it and gently sat it on her head.

Carlisle himself wore a rich red Santa hat, which matched the one that Esme had. Everyone else in the house had their own bright green elf hats, a seemingly running joke in the family that Tony and Bella were invited to share in.

"The cookies are done!" Esme shouted from the kitchen.

Tony grinned and grabbed Jasper's hand, dragging him along and leaving the rest of the Cullens to keep decorating.

Bella and Esme stood side by side at a stacked cooling rack, stocked full of little shortbreads and gingerbreads and regular oatmeal. Bella stood awkwardly, her knees pointed inwards and her hands wringing together while Esme had an arm around her shoulder.

"These look awesome!" Tony complimented, stepping forward and letting go of Jasper's hand for him to go sit on a chair that Edward had pulled up just outside the kitchen area, sitting on one himself.

"Did they kick you out?" Tony asked, picking up an oatmeal cookie and using it to point at Edward.

Edward huffed a sigh. A comical scene, to be honest. Crossed arms and a bell from his elf hat hanging in his face? Absolute gold.

"He was trying to take over." Esme explained.

"I touched the flour and she hit me with a spatula." Edward stated.

"I was trying to get Bella more involved and you were getting in the way." Esme said. "She's great in the kitchen."

Edward glared again, "I touched the flour and you hit me with a spatula."

Esme waved him off and he just slumped more into his seat.

"These cookies are incredible, for people that don't eat you guys sure know how to make great food." Tony hummed through his mouthful of cookie.

"Thank you, dear." Esme smiled. "Bella helped a lot, she definitely knows her way around an oven."

Bella blushed furiously, thanking her quietly.

— LATER IN THE DAY WHEN THE WORLD HAD DARKENED SIGNIFICANTLY, the lights that Emmett had untangled earlier had been hung up along the trees and the house outside, lighting up the small clearing that went all around the house.

Bella and Tony had to pile layer after layer of warm clothing on in order to go outside in the- for once- fluffy two feet of snow. Normally, in Forks, the snow would melt from rain and become slushy and an absolute nightmare to walk through.

They decided to take advantage of the nice, picturesque snow while they still could.

None of the Cullens needed any intense snow wear. Carlisle just wore his casual cardigan and scarf, Emmett wore a muscle shirt, Alice had a grey knitted hat and a simple dress. The snow barely bothered their already cool temperature.

Tony, under his puffy jacket and the fourth scarf that Jasper was helping him put on, glared at the vampires running over the snow, digging their hands in it and tossing chunks of the fluffy white substance at unsuspecting receivers.

"You guys suck." Tony's voice was muffled, but that was nothing to the ears of a vampire.

Jasper chuckled heavily just as he finished wrapping that last scarf over Anthony's face, pulling them down for a moment to kiss the tip of the boy's already bright red nose quickly before tucking the scarves back up.

To put it simply, Tony felt like the Stay Puft marshmallow man.

They stayed out till it was dark, building snowmen and making angels. Ending it all off by one massive snowball fight, topped off by defence walls build out of stacked snow blocks and teams of male vs female.

Safe to say the women won by a long shot. Bella may not have the best aim but her snowball making was surprisingly fast and efficient.

Once the guys were covered in near piles of snow, they called it a night and went back inside to sit around the tree and open gifts.

From Jasper, Tony got one of the boy's sweaters. He could tell from the smell of apple and vanilla in the material. It came with a few different scented candles, all with the similar apple/vanilla theme.

Anthony had complained days earlier that the last sweater he'd stolen had lost its smell, obviously this was Jasper's response.

From Alice, it was a photo album. Pictures of them playing uno and making silly faces, plants from that biology trip and random pictures that Alice had obviously snook of Jasper and Tony holding hands. One was at school, when Jasper was laughing and pressing a kiss to Tony's cheek, his face red with embarrassment. There was pictures before the prom, and even at the prom when Emmett and Tony had danced together.

But one photo that really stuck with him was what looked rather stalkerish, but the feeling it gave him was so warm and fuzzy and wonderful- he just had to give the pixie girl a long lasting bear hug.

It was that same photo that Alice had taken, of Jasper and Tony's first kiss. The rest of the page had random song lyrics and cute little drawings, just like the rest of it did. But the way it looked, pressed into the pages with a thousand other memories made him immeasurably happy.

From Rosalie and Emmett, there was a few art supplies and a Polaroid camera that had to have been Rose's idea.

From Esme and Carlisle, he got a few warm articles of clothing like fuzzy socks and cozy sweaters.

Out of all the things they'd exchanged, nothing seemed to come close to the onesies Tony had gotten for the whole family.

Esme and Carlisle got Nala and Simba, from The Lion King, an honest classic. 

Emmett had Marlin from Finding Nemo, while Rosalie had a bright blue Dory onesie.

Edward and Bella had Mickey and Minnie, and Alice gasped in excitement when she pulled out a Flounder onesie from The Little Mermaid.

When it came down to Jasper and Tony, Tony had said 'fuck it' and bought himself the Angel onesie and the Stitch for Jasper. He wasn't ashamed to wear a bright pink, feminine onesie. In fact, it was quite comfortable and his second favourite colour. He'd debated doing Sully and Mike Wazowski but also knew that he wanted to stick with couples.

Once everyone dressed into their onesies and finished unwrapping gifts, candles were lit and Edward sat down at the piano, beginning to play a familiar Christmas tune.

Esme smiled gently, as Carlisle stood from the couch, holding a hand out for her to take.

Tony watched as he began to lead her in dance while they sang along to the song.

"I really can't stay."

"Baby, it's cold outside." Carlisle spun Esme gently as they swayed.

Soon, Rosalie and Emmett joined in the dancing, the couples illuminated by the glowing candles and lights strung up around the living area.

Tony noticed Alice watching them with sparkling eyes, and stood up to offer his arm.

Alice giggled, taking Tony's arm and tugging him over to a clearer spot and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, swaying gently.

Still sitting on the couches was Bella and Jasper, watching the scene in admiration for the quirkiness of their family while the soft singing of Esme and Carlisle lulled everyone into a gentle feeling of warmth.

Jasper turned to Bella with a raised eyebrow and small smile.

"What?" Bella asked when she noticed his look.

He gestured toward the others, who were still rocking back and forth to the music.

"I- I don't-... I don't dance." She stayed awkwardly.

"Well- we'll have to fix that." Jasper offered his hand to her, leading her to the floor.

Anthony held Alice closer to him, chuckling as her head nuzzled into his shoulder, looking around at this family that he had so easily become a part of.

It wasn't as traditional as he was used to, but with people like these it was hard not to enjoy the holiday.


	42. CHARACTERS SPINOFFS

HEY  
it’s Luna 

sO here’s the sitch-

it’s kind of implied in this story, but Danny is gonna have a spin off with BBC’s Sherlock— I haven’t finished writing it but what I do have will be up and published on ao3 within a couple days of posting this— it’s called ‘Someone to Stay’ and it’s actually on my wattpad (@llunaetic) and my quotev under the same user

I do have plans for Liv to also have a story- her’s will be for Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds and will be titled ‘Bright Eyes’ though I haven’t officially started working on it yet

I just figured I’d keep people informed and in the loop if they happened to be interested ((:

in any case- thank you for reading Way Down We Go, I hope to see you when the sequel comes out!


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